Unit 4 Section 3 Bureaucracy

Alec Pratt
5/1/2016
Unit 4 Section 3 Bureaucracy

The Whistleblower Protection Program is Broken Too
Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-d-gerber/whistleblower-protection_b_5510792.html

As of recent, the bureaucracy and many components of the bureaucracy have come under fire from politicians and political thinkers. Many believe that certain departments of the bureaucracy are broken and should be removed or downsized. These thoughts do not avoid the programs brought around by bureaucracy. Recently, the Whistleblower Protection Act has been one of those components under fire. The system was redone in 2011, resulting in a complete overhaul of the previous methods. However, instead of following the new system, many investigators have been found to just want to close the cases instead of follow them correctly. A portion of these whistleblowers coming forward are also being blamed for these problems and according to the article, around 5% of whistleblowers actually receive their reward.


The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 protects federal workers from punishment if they come forward with misconduct or errors in the United States Government. This provides incentive for the federal workers to keep the federal bureaucracy not corrupt. However, this article really points out the problems with the new system. Many workers are being treated poorly because of how they come forward, the methods are not followed, and a small percentage of those who come forward receive their merit based reward. The new version of the Whistleblower Protection Act has provided regulations that must be followed; however, these regulations are not being followed. The system is not being followed, and it is broken. Rewards are not being given, and the system is not working. I personally think that the Whistleblower Protection Act needs to be reformed and strictly followed.