July 08, 2016

ADVISORY: Wyden, Markey, McCaskill to Hold Press Conference on Whistleblower Retaliation by Contractors at the Energy Department

Senators will release Government Accountability Office Report on Whistleblower Retaliation

Washington, D.C. – Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., will be joined by federal contractor whistleblowers Sandra Black and Walt Tamosaitis at noon ET on Thursday, July 14, to release a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on whistleblower retaliation at the Department of Energy (DOE).

Sandra Black, a contractor employee at DOE’s Savannah River site in South Carolina for more than 30 years was fired for cooperating with the GAO during its collection of information for the report. Walt Tamosaitis was fired after raising safety and design concerns at a multi-billion dollar construction project to treat high-level radioactive waste at the DOE’s Hanford Reservation in Washington.  

Wyden, McCaskill and Markey requested the GAO report in March 2014. 

WHO:

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

Sandra Black, DOE Savannah River nuclear site whistleblower

Walt Tamosaitis, DOE Hanford nuclear site whistleblower

WHEN: 

12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. (PT) Thursday, July 14

WHERE:

Senate Dirksen 215 -- Senate Finance Committee hearing room

WHAT: 

Press conference to release GAO report on whistleblower retaliation at the Energy Department

Members of the media are encouraged to attend and RSVP to keith_chu@wyden.senate.gov or samantha_offerdahl@wyden.senate.gov. Copies of the GAO report will be available at the press conference.

For those who cannot attend, the event will be livestreamed on Sen. Wyden’s YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/SenRonWyden