Senator Daniel K. Akaka issued the following statement on the release of the Supreme Court's decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos today:

"I am extremely disappointed by the Supreme Court's decision that the First Amendment does not protect public employees, including federal employees, from retaliation for disclosing government wrongdoing as part of their official duties. This decision will have a serious chilling effect on the willingness of public employees to come forward to disclose government waste, fraud, abuse, or threats to public health and safety. The potential damage caused by the decision restricting good-faith whistleblowing is unknown.

In reaching its decision, the Court acknowledged that federal and state whistleblower protection laws, labor laws, and occupational rules of conduct have been adopted to address government inefficiency and misconduct. However, I believe the protections provided by these laws do not go far enough. As Justice Souter wrote in his dissent, the Whistleblower Protection Act fails to protect federal government employees who make whistlebower disclosures to their immediate supervisor, disclose facts publicly known, or made in connection with normal employment duties.

Because the Court has decided against protecting employees, Congress must pass legislation to strengthen the rights and protections of federal whistleblowers who disclose government wrongdoing and threats to public safety. My bill, the Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act (S. 494), has broad bipartisan support and would expressly permit a whistleblower to be protected for disclosing information in the course of their job duties."