Tell Congress to Restore Protections for Intelligence Community Contractors

In the spring of 2013, media reports based on National Security Administration (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden's whistleblowing began changing the world. Snowden provided journalists with countless documents exposing the agency's privacy-violating surveillance programs. While the whistleblower has removed the veil from the ominously expanding state, his critics say that he should have worked "within the system" to change things.

Not only did Snowden repeatedly raise concerns internally, but under current law, Intelligence Community (IC) contractors remain virtually defenseless when they report government waste, fraud, and abuse. But that was not always the case: just six months before Snowden's disclosures began, the House Intelligence Committee stripped existing protections for certain IC contractors.

Senator Clair McCaskill (D-MO) has introduced an amendment (SA 3911) to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 that would restore best practice whistleblower rights for Intelligence Community contractors. If passed, it would help to safeguard billions of taxpayers dollars annually and provide checks on government abuses of power. Importantly, SA 3911 would also provide truth-tellers such as former NSA contractor Edward Snowden with safe channels to report government illegality.

Take action today to let Congressional leadership know that IC whistleblowers should be protected through passage of SA 3911.