Whistle Where You Work: Episode 13 - Sharon Bradford Franklin and Tom Devine

Description

WWYW is a multimedia program focusing on issues of accountability, that is produced by the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization. To learn more about the program, click here.

In March, President Obama signed a $410 billion omnibus spending bill, but in doing so, he attached a signing statement asserting that certain provisions of the legislation raised constitutional concerns that Congress was stepping on Executive powers. Specifically, the president stated he was not waiving his authority to control communications by federal employees to Congress involving information that is properly privileged or confidential. What are the ramifications of this statement for federal employee whistleblowers who wish to take concerns to Congress? Our guests include Sharon Bradford Franklin of the Constitution Project, and Tom Devine of the Government Accountability Project.

Then, we sit down with Lisa Hayes of the Alliance for Justice, who is fighting for legislation that would allow patients injured by medical devices to sue the manufactures of such faulty products. If patients harmed by prescription drugs have legal recourse against manufacturers, why shouldn’t medical device producers be held accountable too?

This episode was filmed in late April 2009.