OR Senator introduces bill to strengthen whistleblower protections

A new bill would expand protections for whistleblowers at the Department of Energy following what an Oregon Senator calls a "culture of secrecy" at Hanford.

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, along with two other senators, introduced the legislation Monday which will protect those who speak out about waste, fraud and abuse.

"I’ve been at this a long time, and it has become clear that the Department of Energy is not going to change its culture of retaliation against whistleblowers, so it’s up to Congress to change it,” says Wyden.

The bill will also will require contractors to pay legal costs in lawsuits, unless contractors can show the DOE caused the retaliation. Currently, the DOE pays legal costs on behalf of the contractors.

In July, Wyden held a press conference once the Government Accountability Office released a report on the DOE whistleblower protections. The report found that the DOE needed to make several changes to help protect workers. A former Hanford employee told his story about how he was fired after raising concerns about a multi-billion dollar construction project to treat high-level radioactive waste.