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Whistleblower Coalition Groups Jointly Call on Senate Committee to Investigate VA Whistleblower Claims

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Whistleblower
uropean Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans gives a press conference on the Commission proposal for the protection of whistleblowers at the EU Headquarters in Brussels, on April 23, 2018. File photo: Alexandros Michailidis, Shutter Stock, licensed.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Empower Oversight co-signed a joint letter (pdf) with other Make It Safe Coalition (MISC) members to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee expressing support for whistleblowers within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and calling on the committee to investigate the claims made by those whistleblowers.

MISC is a collection of groups that coordinate on whistleblower concerns. The other MISC-member groups that co-signed were the Government Accountability Project, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, Project on Government Oversight, and Whistleblowers of America.

On June 9, 2023 from Empower Oversight and Whistleblowers of America wrote to the committee (pdf) and explained the whistleblowers’ concerns at length. The whistleblowers detailed privacy concerns with the VA’s Integrated Workflow Solution (VIEWS) system. Specifically, veterans’ and employees’ personal information, from their workplace ID to health information were found to be vulnerable, along with confidential whistleblower disclosures.

“The whistleblowers have raised grave concerns about privacy issues with the VA’s Integrated Workflow Solution (VIEWS) system, including mishandling veterans’ and employees’ personally identifiable information (PII), personal health information (PHI), and confidential whistleblower disclosures. This requires immediate attention and remedial action. According to the whistleblowers, the VIEWS system’s lack of accountability allows supervisors to store and share information about whistleblowers and their disclosures, creating a significant risk to the confidentiality of protected information and potential exposure to retaliation,” the letter said.

“In light of these allegations, we urge the Committee to thoroughly investigate the whistleblowers’ disclosures. Conducting a diligent and impartial investigation is essential both to addressing the alleged vulnerabilities and to sending a strong message that whistleblower disclosures are taken seriously by the Committee. In addition to investigating their information, it is essential that the Committee ensure they are shielded from retaliation—exactly what these whistleblowers allege the VA has failed to do,” the letter concluded.

A separate coalition of organizations representing more than one million veterans has also written a letter (pdf) supporting the whistleblowers and Senator Chuck Grassley’s efforts to ensure that their concerns are heard.

If you have first-hand information you’d like to disclose to assist Empower Oversight with these inquiries, please contact us confidentially here.

Empower Oversight Whistleblowers & Research (EMPOWR) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization dedicated to enhancing independent oversight of government and corporate wrongdoing. EMPOWR works to help insiders document and report corruption to the proper authorities while also seeking to hold authorities accountable to act on those reports.

George McGregor

Mr. McGregor is our staff news reporter who focuses primarily on reviewing and editing (if necessary) all media alerts and press releases for The Published Reporter. Media advisories, alerts and press releases can be sent via email to [email protected] and, if approved, will be published free of charge. There is no guarantee your release will be published; inclusion is at the discretion of our editors. We receive hundreds of media advisories and news alerts per day and choose a select few for publication. Please see our editorial guidelines and terms of service.

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