Podcasts about whistleblower protection act

Dr. Phil continues his raw conversation with ex-CIA officer John Kiriakou.  In this gripping continuation of Dr. Phil's deep-dive with former CIA officer turned whistleblower John Kiriakou, Part Two unpacks the personal, political, and psychological consequences of speaking truth to power. From the realities of the Whistleblower Protection Act to the inside story of how Kiriakou exposed the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques—this episode goes far beyond headlines. Thank you to our sponsors: FYSI: Visit https://FYSI.com/DRPHIL/  or call 800-877-4000 Tax Network USA: Call 1-800-958-1000 or visit https://TNUSA.com/DRPHIL/  to speak to a strategist for FREE Preserve Gold: Visit: https://drphilgold.com/   Get a FREE precious metals guide that contains essential information on how to help protect your accounts. Text “DRPHIL” to 50505 to claim this exclusive offer from Preserve Gold today.

The Whistleblower Protection Act was enacted to protect people who raise issues from retaliation. It's not the strongest law in the world, according to my next guest. In a recent National Law Review article, he lists several other tools whistleblowers can also use. Attorney Stephen Kohn of Kohn, Kohn Colapinto joins me now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Whistleblower Protection Act was enacted to protect people who raise issues from retaliation. It's not the strongest law in the world, according to my next guest. In a recent National Law Review article, he lists several other tools whistleblowers can also use. Attorney Stephen Kohn of Kohn, Kohn Colapinto joins me now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Malaysiakini has been reporting on an anonymous whistleblower who has video evidence allegedly showing discussions between a businessman and various state assemblymen about bribes for a project licence. The whistleblower has also asked for a written guarantee from the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission for immunity from prosecution. Ramkarpal Singh, the former Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and the current MP for Bukit Gelugor, shares his thoughts on this development.Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

On this special Veterans Day episode of the podcast, Host Amanda Head talks with former Acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Peter O'Rourke to spotlight critical issues facing America's veterans and how they were addressed during the Trump Administration. Secretary O'Rourke delves into the impact of the Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act and the Mission Act, both of which expanded healthcare options for veterans and promoted accountability within the VA. Additionally, the pair discuss the pressing concern of veteran suicides and the need for improved mental health resources. O'Rourke emphasizes the role of local solutions and state legislatures in enhancing veterans' quality of life and calls for a more streamlined approach to the VA and Department of Defense. The former Trump Administration official expresses optimism about the future, sharing his belief in the potential for meaningful progress under President Donald Trump's second term in the White House.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 2019, the EU issued the European Parliament and Council Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of EU law. This directive has obliged all member states to implement comprehensive whistleblower protection regulation by December 2021, aiming to ensure that individuals who report misconduct or illegal activities within organizations are safeguarded from retaliation. While all other EU member states have successfully introduced their respective regulations, Poland has been notably delayed in this process. The delay has not gone unnoticed, as Poland has already faced sanctions from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to meet the directive's deadline. However, there is significant progress to report. On June 14, 2024, Poland has adopted its Whistleblower Protection Act. Most of the new legislation came into force on September 25th, 2024. This new legislation marks a pivotal step towards aligning with EU standards and providing essential protections for whistleblowers within the country. Today, we will be discussing the European Directive on whistleblower protection and the new Polish Whistleblower Protection Act, especially from the viewpoint of Polish employers. Host: Philippe Durand (email) (August Debouzy / France)Guest Speaker: Katarzyna Komolibio (email) (Miller Canfield / Poland)Support the showRegister on the ELA website here to receive email invitations to future programs.

This week; Trump secures a surety bond to cover E. Jean Carroll's judgment against him; Pete Navarro is ordered to report to prison in less than a week; Trump's trial in Manhattan is set to begin in less than two weeks; there are updates on Bannon's situation; the DHS IG is rebuked in strongly worded letter from Democrats; filings in hunter's civil suit; Arizona's prosecution of fraudulent electors is almost complete; we should know soon whether Fani Willis gets to continue the RICO prosecution in Georgia; and a former Air Force Colonel has been arrested for  transmitting classified information relating to the national defense through an online dating site.FCI Miami Commissary https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/mia/mia_legal_activities.pdf Why Fani Willis Is Not Disqualified Under Georgia Lawhttps://www.justsecurity.org/91368/why-fani-willis-is-not-disqualified-under-georgia-law/ Allison Gillhttps://post.news/@/MuellerSheWrotehttps://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrotePete Strzokhttps://twitter.com/petestrzokThe Podcasthttps://twitter.com/aisle45podWant to support this podcast and get it ad-free and early?Go to: https://www.patreon.com/aisle45podTell us about yourself and what you like about the show - http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short

Former FBI Agent Steve Friend was fired for making protected Whistleblower disclosures about phony domestic terrorism cases. The FBI got around the Whistleblower Protection Act by suspending his security clearance. In his testimony before the Weaponization Select Committee, Friend revealed that the FBI was manipulating its statistics on domestic terrorism using J6 cases spread across the country to make it look like we faced a greater risk of domestic terrorism. The FBI no longer sees themselves as case agents investigating then taking someone to jail. Now the FBI default option for making arrests is the SWAT Team, an unnecessary risk to everyone. Friend says the FBI is perversely incentivized to boost numbers to justify an ever expanding budget. Executives within the FBI actually get compensated when quota numbers are hit, more when agents use wiretaps. Friend thinks the FBI needs to be broken into a thousand pieces and scattered to the wind. If Congress lacks the appetite to actually defund the entire FBI Agency, they should at the very least defund the armed Special Agent position and make it unarmed. Force them to work with local Sherriff Offices to do investigations and use local personnel to provide armed law enforcement for arrests. GUEST: STEVE FRIEND, FBI WHISTLEBLOWERSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Since May 2022, Congress has held three hearings looking into Unidentified Aerial Phenomena and the possibility of non-human intelligent life flying aircraft on Earth. In this episode, hear testimony from three Defense Department officials and three credible whistleblowers, whose testimony is often as contradictory as it is shocking. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via Support Congressional Dish via (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Background Sources Whistleblower Protections Clayton E. Wire. 2020. Ogborn Mihm LLP. Security Classifications Security Classification of Information, Volume 2. Principles for Classification of Information. Arvin S. Quist. Oak Ridge National Laboratory: 1993. UAP Background Brian Entin. June 6, 2023. NewsNation. Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal. June 5, 2023. The Debrief. May 16, 2021. 60 Minutes. Ralph Blumenthal. December 18, 2017. The New York Times. Helene Cooper et al. December 16, 2017. The New York Times. Independent Research and Development National Defense Industrial Association. SCIFs Derek Hawkins et al. April 26, 2023. The Washington Post. Kirkpatrick Response Letter D. Dean Johnson (@ddeanjohnson). Twitter. Audio Sources July 26, 2023 House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Witnesses: , Former Commanding Officer, United States Navy Ryan Graves, Executive Director, Americans for Safe Aerospace David Grusch, Former National Reconnaissance Office Representative, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, Department of Defense Clips timestamps reflect C-SPAN video 4:30 Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI): The National Defense Authorization Act of 2022 established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office or AARO to conduct or to coordinate efforts across the Department of Defense and other federal agencies to detect, identify and investigate UAPs. However, AARO's budget remains classified, prohibiting meaningful oversight from Congress. 19:50 Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA): We know the Senate is taking up an amendment to their defense authorization bill which will create a commission with broad declassification authority and we should all agree that that is an important step. 27:40 Ryan Graves: Excessive classification practices keep crucial information hidden. Since 2021, all UAP videos are classified as secret or above. This level of secrecy not only impedes our understanding, but fuels speculation and mistrust. 27:55 Ryan Graves: In 2014, I was an F-18 Foxtrot pilot in the Navy fighter attack Squadron 11, the Red Rippers, and I was stationed at NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach. After upgrades were made to our jet's radar systems, we began detecting unknown objects operating in our airspace. At first, we assumed they were radar errors. But soon we began to correlate the radar tracks with multiple onboard sensors, including infrared systems, and eventually through visual ID. During a training mission in Warning Area W-72, 10 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Two F/A-18F Super Hornets were split by a UAP. The object, described as a dark gray or a black cube inside of a clear sphere, came within 50 feet of the lead aircraft and was estimated to be five to 15 feet in diameter. The mission commander terminated the flight immediately and returned to base. Our squadron submitted a safety report, but there was no official acknowledgement of the incident and no further mechanism to report the sightings. Soon these encounters became so frequent that aircrew would discuss the risk of UAP as part of their regular pre-flight briefs. 29:00 Ryan Graves: Recognising the need for action and answers, I founded Americans for Safe Aerospace. The organization has since become a haven for UAP witnesses who were previously unspoken due to the absence of a safe intake process. More than 30 witnesses have come forward and almost 5000 Americans have joined us in the fight for transparency at safeaerospace.org 29:20 Ryan Graves: The majority of witnesses are commercial pilots at major airlines. Often, they are veterans with decades of flying experience. Pilots are reporting UAP at altitudes that appear above them at 40,000 feet potentially in low Earth orbit or in the gray zone below the Karman Line, making unexplainable maneuvers like right hand turns and retrograde orbits or J hooks. Sometimes these reports are reoccurring with numerous recent sightings north of y and in the North Atlantic. Other veterans are also coming forward to us regarding UAP encounters in our airspace and oceans. The most compelling involve observations of UAP by multiple witnesses and sensor systems. I believe these accounts are only scratching the surface and more will share their experiences once it is safe to do so. 31:30 David Grusch: I became a whistleblower through a PPD 19 urgent concern filing in May 2022 with the intelligence community Inspector General following concerning reports from multiple esteemed and credentialed current and former military and intelligence community individuals that the US government is operating with secrecy above congressional oversight with regards to UAPs. My testimony is based on information I've been given by individuals with a long standing track record of legitimacy and service to this country, many of whom also have shared compelling evidence in the form of photography, official documentation, and classified oral testimony to myself and my various colleagues. I have taken every step I can to corroborate this evidence over a period of four years while I was with the UAP Task Force and do my due diligence on the individual sharing it. Because of these steps. I believe strongly in the importance of bringing this information before you. 33:30 David Grusch: In 2019, the UAP Task Force director asked me to identify all Special Access Programs and Controlled Access Programs, also known as SAPS and CAPS. We needed to satisfy our congressionally mandated mission and we were direct report at the time to the [Deputy Secretary of Defense]. At the time, due to my extensive executive level intelligence support duties, I was cleared to literally all relevant compartments and in a position of extreme trust both in my military and civilian capacities. I was informed in the course of my official duties of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to which I was denied access to those additional read-ons when I requested it. I made the decision based on the data I collected to report this information to my superiors and multiple Inspectors General and, in effect, becoming a whistleblower. 35:20 Cmdr. David Fravor: We were attached to carrier 11, stationed onboard USS Nimitz and began a two month workup cycle off the coast of California. On this day, we were scheduled for a two v two air-to-air training with the USS Princeton as our control. When we launched off Nimitz, my wingman was joining out, we were told that the training was going to be suspended and we're going to proceed with real world tasking. As we proceeded to the West, the air controller was counting down the range to an object that we were going to and we were unaware of what we're going to see when we arrived. There, the controller told us that these objects had been observed for over two weeks coming down from over 80,000 feet, rapidly descending to 20,000 feet, hanging out for hours and then going straight back up. For those who don't realize, above 80,000 feet is space. We arrived at the location at approximately 20,000 feet and the controller called the merge plot, which means that our radar blip was now in the same resolution cell as a contact. As we looked around, we noticed that we saw some whitewater off our right side. It's important to note the weather on this day was as close to perfect as you could ask for off the coast of San Diego: clear skies, light winds, calm seas, no white caps from waves. So the whitewater stood out in a large blue ocean. All four of us, because we were in an F/A-18F F, so we had pilots and WSO in the backseat, looked down and saw a white tic tac object with a longitudinal axis pointing north-south and moving very abruptly over the water, like a ping pong ball. There were no rotors, no rotor wash, or any sign of visible control surfaces like wings. As we started clockwise towards the object, my WSO I decided to go down and take a closer look with the other aircraft staying in high cover to observe both us and the tic tac. We proceeded around the circle about 90 degrees from the start of our descent, and the object suddenly shifted its longitudinal axis, aligned it with my aircraft and began to climb. We continued down another 270 degrees, and we went nose low to where the tic tac would have been. Our altitude at this point is about 15,000 feet and the tic tac was about 12,000. As we pulled nose-on to the object within about a half mile of it, it rapidly accelerated in front of us and disappeared. Our wingmen, roughly 8000 feet above us, lost contact also. We immediately turned back to see where the whitewater was at and it was gone also. So as you started to turn back towards the east the controller came up and said "Sir you're not going to believe this but that thing is that your cat point roughly 60 miles away in less than a minute." You can calculate the speed. We returned to Nimitz. We were taking off our gear, we were talking to one of my crews that was getting ready to launch, we mentioned it to them and they went out and luckily got the video that you see, that 90 second video. What you don't see is the radar tape that was never released, and we don't know where it's at. 37:55 Cmdr. David Fravor: What is shocking to us is that the incident was never investigated. None of my crew ever questioned and tapes were never taken and after a couple days it turned into a great story with friends. It wasn't until 2009 until J. Stratton had contacted me to investigate. Unbeknownst to all, he was part of the AATIP program at the Pentagon led by Lue Elizondo. There was an unofficial official report that came out it's now in the internet. Years later, I was contacted by the other pilot Alex Dietrich and asked if I'd been contacted and I said "No, but I'm willing to talk." I was contacted by Mr. Elizondo, and we talked for a short period of time, he said we'd be in contact. A few weeks after that I was made aware that Lue had left the Pentagon in protest and joined forces with Tom DeLonge and Chris Mellon, Steve Justice, and others to form To the Stars Academy, an organization that pressed the issue with leading industry experts and US government officials. They worked with Leslie Kean, who is present today, Ralph Blumenthal, and Helene Cooper to publish the articles in the New York Times in 2017. It removed the stigma on the topic of UFOs, which is why we're here today. Those articles opened the door for the government and public that cannot be closed. It has led to an interest from our elected officials, who are not focused on Little Green Men, but figuring out where these craft are, where they are from, the technology they possess, how do they operate. It also led to the Whistleblower Protection Act in the NDAA. 39:45 Cmdr. David Fravor: In closing, I would like to say that the tic tac object we engaged in 2004 was far superior to anything that we had on time, have today, or are looking to develop in the next 10 years. If we, in fact, have programs that possess this technology and needs to have oversight from those people, that the citizens of this great country elected in office to represent what is best for the United States and best for the citizens. I thank you for your time. 40:20 Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI): Are your pilots, or pilots that you interact with as part of your organization, do you feel adequately trained and briefed on how to handle encounters with UAPs? Ryan Graves: No. Right now, military witnesses to UAP have limited options for reporting UAP. But more more concerning is that the commercial aviation sector has not adapted to the lessons that the military has implemented. The military and Department of Defense have stated that UAP represent a critical aviation safety risk. We have not seen that same language being used in the commercial markets, they are not acknowledging this. 41:05 Ryan Graves: Right now we need a system where pilots can report without fear of losing their jobs. There's a fear that the stigma associated with this topic is going to lead to professional repercussions either through management or perhaps through their yearly physical check. So having a secure system, reducing the stigma, and making this information available through the public is going to reduce the concerns that aircrew have. 41:30 Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI): Can you just give me a little idea the degree to which reports in the past are not made public right now? Ryan Graves: Well, I don't think there has been a proper reporting system to gather those reports and thus not report them. So to answer your question, I think there is a dearth of data due to the fact that the reporting has been limited up to this time. 41:45 Ryan Graves: There's certainly some national security concerns when we use our advanced sensors and our tactical jets to be able to identify these objects. However, there's no reason that the objects themselves would be classified. I would be curious to see how the security classification guideline actually spells out the different nuances of how this topic is classified from the perspective of UAP, not national security. 43:00 Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI): Mr. Fravor, the tic tac incident that you were engaged [in] occurred in 2004. What kind of reporting took place after that incident? Ryan Graves: None. We had a standard debrief where the back-seaters went down to our carrier intel center and briefed what had happened, and that was it. No one else talked to us. And I was in the top 20 in the battle group, no one came that the Captain was aware, the of Admiral was aware, nothing was done. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI): Did your commanding officers provide any sort of justification? Ryan Graves: No, because I was the commanding officer of the quadron. So no. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI): Was this incident the only UAP event that you encountered while you were a pilot? Ryan Graves: Yes, it was. 43:50 Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI): Do you believe UAPs pose a potential threat to our national security? Ryan Graves: Yes, and here's why: the technology that we faced was far superior than anything that we had, and you could put that anywhere. If you had one, you captured one, you reverse engineered it, you got it to work, you're talking something that can go into space, go someplace, dropped down in a matter of seconds, do whatever it wants and leave. And there's nothing we can do about it. Nothing. 44:20 Ryan Graves: I would also like to add from a commercial aviation and military aviation perspective, we deal with uncertainty in our operating space as a matter of our professional actions. Identifying friend from foe is very important to us. And so when we have identified targets and we continue to ignore those due to a stigma or fear of what it could be, that's an opening that our adversaries can take advantage of. 44:55 Ryan Graves: There needs to be a location where this information is centralized for processing and there needs to be a two-way communication loop so the operators on the front end have feedback and can get best practices on how to process information, what to do, and to ensure that their reporting is being listened to. Right now there is not a lot of back and forth. 46:25 Ryan Graves: When we were first experiencing these objects off the eastern seaboard in the 2014 to 2015 time period, anyone that had upgraded their radar systems were seeing these objects. So there was a large number of my colleagues that were detecting these objects off the eastern seaboard. They were further correlating that information with the other onboard sensors. And many of them also had their own eyesightings, as well, of these objects. Now, that was our personal, firsthand experience at the time. Since then, as I've engaged this topic, others have reached out to me to share their experiences both on the military side as well as the commercial aviation side. On the military aviation side, veterans that have recently got out have shared their stories and have expressed how the objects we are seeing in 2014 and 2015 continued all the way to 2019, 2020, and beyond. And so it became a generational issue for naval aviators on the Eastern Seaboard. This was something we were briefing to new students. This is something that was included in the notice to airmen to ensure that there was no accidents. And now with commercial aviators, they are reaching out because they're having somewhat similar experiences as our military brothers and sisters, but they do not have any reporting system that they can send this to. 47:55 Cmdr. David Fravor: It's actually, it's a travesty that we don't have a system to correlate this and actually investigate. You know, so if you took the east coast, there's coastal radars out there that monitor our air defense identification zone. Out to 200 miles, they can track these. So when you see them, they could actually go and pull that data and get maneuvering. And instead of just having the airplanes, there's other data sources out there. And I've talked to other government officials on this. You need a centrally located repository that these reports go to. So if you just stuck it in DOD, you wouldn't get anything out of the Intelligence Committee because they have a tendency not to talk. But if you had a central location where these reports are coming in, not just military, but also commercial aviation, because there's a lot of that going on, especially if you talk to anyone that flies from here to Hawaii, over the Pacific they see odd lights. So I think you need to develop something that allows you a central point to collect the data in order to investigate. 51:20 Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA): Mr. Grusch, finally, do you believe that our government is in possession of UAPs? David Grusch: Absolutely, based on interviewing over 40 witnesses over four years. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA): And where? David Grusch: I know the exact locations and those locations were provided to the Inspector General, and some of which to the intelligence committees, I actually had the people with the firsthand knowledge provide a protected disclosure to the Inspector General 52:15 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Mr. Graves. Again, I'd like to know, how do you know that these were not our aircraft? Ryan Graves: Some of the behaviors that we saw in a working area. We would see these objects being at 0.0 Mach, that's zero airspeed over certain pieces of the ground. So what that means, just like a river, if you throw a bobber in, it's gonna float downstream. These objects were staying completely stationary in category four hurricane winds. The same objects would then accelerate to supersonic speeds 1.1-1.2 Mach, and they would do so in very erratic and quick behaviors that we don't -- I don't -- have an explanation for. 55:50 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Mr. Fravor, do you believe that you witnessed an additional object under the water in relation to your encounter? Cmdr. David Fravor: I will say we did not see an object. There was something there to cause the whitewater and when we turned around, it was gone. So there was something there that obviously moved. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Okay, it was not the same object, though, that you were looking at, correct? Cmdr. David Fravor: No, we actually joked that the tic tac was communicating with something when we came back, because the whitewater disappeared. 56:15 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): We were, in another instance, told about the capabilities of jamming when there were some people chasing some of these objects. Did you experience any of that jamming, or interrupting your radar or weapon system? Cmdr. David Fravor: My crew that launched, after we landed, experienced significant jamming to the APG 73 radar, which was what we had on board, which is a mechanically scan, very high end system, prior to APG 79. And yes, it did pretty much everything you could do range, velocity, aspect, and then it hit the lock and the targeting pod is passive. That's when we're able to get the video on. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): I'm about to run out of time, but are you aware of any of our enemies that have that capability? Cmdr. David Fravor: No, no. 57:40 Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): You've identified these as taking place on the East Coast. Is it just on the East Coast where these encounters have been reported? Ryan Graves: No. Since the events initially occurred, I've learned that the objects have been detected, essentially where all Navy operations are being conducted across the world. And that's from the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office reporting. 58:50 Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): Are there common characteristics to the UAPs that have been sighted by different pilots? And can you describe what the convergence of descriptions is? Ryan Graves: Certainly. We were primarily seeing dark gray or black cubes inside of a clear sphere. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): I'm sorry, dark gray or black cubes? Ryan Graves: Yes, inside of a clear sphere where the apex or tips of the cube were touching the inside of that sphere. And that was primarily what was being reported when we were able to gain a visual tally of these objects. That occurred over almost eight years, and as far as I know, is still occurring. 59:45 Ryan Graves: I think we need both transparency and the reporting. We have the reporting, but we need to make sure that information can be propagated to commercial aviation as well as the rest of the populace. 1:05:00 Ryan Graves: In the 2003 timeframe, a large group of Boeing contractors were operating near one of the launch facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base when they observed a very large, 100-yard-sided red square approach the base from the ocean and hover at low altitude over one of the launch facilities. This object remained for about 45 seconds or so before darting off over the mountains. There was a similar event within 24 hours later in the evening. This was a morning event, I believe, 8:45 in the morning. Later in the evening, post sunset, there were reports of other sightings on base including some aggressive behaviors. These objects were approaching some of the security guards at rapid speeds before darting off, and this is information that was received through one of the witnesses that have approached me at Americans for Safe Aerospace. 1:06:15 Ryan Graves: I have not seen what they've described. This object was estimated to be almost the size of a football field, and I have not seen anything personally that large. 1:07:05 Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL): With the FAA, to your understanding, pilots that are seeing this, commercial airline pilots, are they receiving cease and desist letters from corporations for coming forward with information in regards to safety for potential air airline passengers? Ryan Graves: I have been made privy to conversations with commercial aviators who have received cease and desist orders. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL): So the American public should know that corporations are putting their own reputations ahead of the safety of the American people. Would you agree with that statement? Ryan Graves: It appears so. 1:08:15 Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL): So what about G forces? Let's talk about G forces in those vehicles. Could a human survive those G forces with known technology today? Cmdr. David Fravor: No, not for the acceleration rates that we observed. 1:08:45 Cmdr. David Fravor: So we got within a half mile of the tic tac, which people say that's pretty far, but in airplanes that's actually relatively close. Now it was perfectly white, smooth, no windows, although when we did take the original FLIR video that is out there, when you put it on a big screen it actually had two little objects that came out of the bottom of it. But other than that, no windows, no seams, no nothing. 1:09:05 Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL): Mr. Grusch, as a result of your previous government work have you met with people with direct knowledge or have direct knowledge yourself of non-human origin craft? David Grusch: Yes, I personally interviewed those individuals. 1:09:40 Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL): Do you have knowledge or do you have reason to believe that there are programs in the advanced tech space that are unsanctioned? David Grusch: Yes, I do. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL): Okay. And when you say that they're above congressional oversight, what do you mean? David Grusch: Complicated question. So there's some, I would call it abuse here. So congressional oversight of conventional Special Special Access Programs, and I'll use Title X, so DOD, as an example. So 10 US Code section 119 discusses congressional oversight of SAPS, discusses the Deputy Secretary of Defense's ability to waive congressional reporting. However, the Gang of Eight is at least supposed to be notified if a waived or waived bigoted unacknowledged SAP is created. That's Public Law. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL): I don't want to cut you off, but how does a program like that get funded? David Grusch: I will give you generalities. I can get very specific in a closed session, but misappropriation of funds. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL): Does that mean that there is money in the budget that is set to go to a program but it doesn't and it goes to something else? David Grusch: Yes, have specific knowledge of that. Yep. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL): Do you think US corporations are overcharging for certain tech they're selling to the US government and that additional money is going to programs? David Grusch: Correct, through something called IRAD. 1:12:45 Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-VA): Mr. Grusch, in your sworn testimony you state that the United States government has retrieved supposedly extraterrestrial spacecraft and other UAP related artifacts. You go so far as to state that the US is in possession of "non human spacecraft" and that some of these artifacts have circulated with defense contractors. Several other former military and intelligence officials have come forward with similar allegations albeit in non-public setting. However, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, the Director of AARO, previously testified before Congress that there has been and I quote, "no credible evidence" thus far of extraterrestrial act activity or "off world technology" brought to the attention of the office. To your knowledge, is that statement correct? David Grusch: It's not accurate. I believe Dr. Kirkpatrick mentioned he had about 30 individuals that have come to AARO thus far. A few of those individuals have also come to AARO that I also interviewed and I know what they provided Dr. Kirkpatrick and their team. I was able to evaluate -- Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-VA): Okay, I need to go on. David Grusch: Sure. 1:21:25 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Has the US government become aware of actual evidence of extraterrestrial or otherwise unexplained forms of intelligence? And if so, when do you think this first occurred? David Grusch: I like to use the term non-human, I don't like to denote origin, it keeps the aperture open scientifically. Certainly, like I've just discussed publicly, previously, the 1930s. 1:21:45 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Okay, can you give me the names and titles of the people with direct, first-hand knowledge and access to some of these crash retrieval programs and maybe which facilities, military bases that the recovered material would be in? And I know a lot of Congress talked about, we're gonna go to area 51. And, you know, there's nothing there anymore anyway, it's just you know, we move like a glacier. And as soon as we announce it, I'm sure the moving vans would pull up, but please. David Grusch: I can't discuss that publicly. But I did provide that information both to the Intel committees and the Inspector General. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): And we could get that in the SCIF, if we were allowed to get in a SCIF with you? Would that be probably what you would think? David Grusch: Sure, if you had the appropriate accesses, yeah. 1:22:30 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): What Special Access Programs cover this information? And how is it possible that they have evaded oversight for so long? David Grusch: I do know the names, once again, I can't discuss that publicly. And how they've evaded oversight in a closed setting I could tell you this specific tradecraft used. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Alright. 1:22:50 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): When did you think those programs began and who authorized them? David Grusch: I do know a lot of that information, but that's something I can't discuss publicly because of sensitivities Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Alright. 1:24:05 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Title 10 and title 50 authorization, they seem to say they're inefficient. So who gets to decide this, in your opinion, in the past? David Grusch: It's a group of career senior executive officials. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Okay. Are they government officials? David Grusch: Both in and out of government and that's about as far I'll go there. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Well, that leads to my next question, which private corporations are directly involved in this program? How much taxpayer money has been invested in these programs? David Grusch: Yeah, I don't know the specific metrics towards the end of your question. The specific corporations I did provide to the committees in specific divisions, and I spent 11 and a half hours with both Intel committees. 1:25:30 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Has there been an active US government disinformation campaign to deny the existence of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena? And if so, why? David Grusch: I can't go beyond what I've already exposed publicly about that. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Okay, I've been told to ask you what that is and how to get it in the record. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL): What have you stated publicly in your interviews, for the Congressional Record? David Grusch: If you reference my NewsNation interview, I talk about a multi-decade campaign to disenfranchise public interest basically. 1:28:00 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY): When it comes to notification that you had mentioned about IRAD programs, we have seen defense contractors abuse their contracts before through this committee. I have seen it personally, and I have also seen the notification requirements to Congress abused. I am wondering, one of the loopholes that we see in the law is that there is, at least from my vantage point, depending on what we're seeing, is that there are no actual definitions or requirements for notification, are there? What methods of notification did you observe? When they say they notified Congress, how did they do that? Do you have insight into that? David Grusch: For certain IRAD activities....I can only think of ones conventional in nature. Sometimes they flow through certain out of say SAP programs that have cognisant authority over the Air Force or something. And those are congressionally reported compartments, but IRAD is literally internal to the contractor. So as long as it's money, either profits, private investment, etc, they can do whatever they want. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY): To put a finer point on it, when there is a requirement for any agency or company to notify Congress, do they contact the chairman of a committee, do they get them on the phone specifically, is this through an email to hypothetically a dead email box? David Grusch: A lot of it comes through what they call the PPR, Periodic Program Review process. If it's a SAP or Controlled Access Program equity, and then those go to the specific committees. 1:30:40 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY): For the record, if you were me, where would you look? Titles, programs, departments, regions? If you could just name anything. And I put that as an open question to the three of you. David Grusch: I'd be happy to give you that in a closed environment. I can tell you specifically. 1:35:40 Cmdr. David Fravor: Things are over-classified. I know for a fact the video or the pictures that came out in the 2020 report that had the stuff off the east coast, they were taken with an iPhone, off the east coast. A buddy of mine was one of the senior people there and he said they originally classified a TSS CI, and my question to him was what's TSS CI about these? They're an iPhone, right, literally off the vacates, that's not TSS CI. So they're over classified, and as soon as they do that, they go into the vault, and then you all have to look for them. 1:37:20 Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO): Has any of the activity been aggressive, been hostile in your reports? David Grusch: I know of multiple colleagues of mine that got physically injured. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO): By UAPs, or by people within the federal government? So there has been activity by alien or non-human technology and or beings that has caused harm to humans? David Grusch: I can't get into the specifics in an open environment, but at least the activity that I personally witnessed, and I have to be very careful here, because they tell you never to acknowledge tradecraft, right. So what I personally witnessed, myself and my wife, was very disturbing. 1:38:20 Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO): You've said that the US has intact spacecraft. You said that the government has alien bodies or alien species. Have you seen the spacecraft? David Grusch: I have to be careful to describe what I've seen firsthand and not in this environment. But I could answer that question behind closed doors. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO): Have you seen any of the bodies? David Grusch: That's something I've not witnessed myself. 1:40:45 Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO): These aircraft, have they been identified that they are being produced by domestic military contractors? Is there any evidence that that's what's being recovered? David Grusch: Not to my knowledge. Plus the recoveries predate a lot of our advanced programs. 1:48:05 David Grusch: I've actually never seen anything personal, believe it or not. 1:51:00 Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC): If you believe we have crashed craft, stated earlier, do we have the bodies of the pilots who piloted this craft? David Grusch: As I've stated publicly already in my NewsNation interview, biologics came with some of these recoveries. 1:51:15 Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC): Were they human or non human biologics? David Grusch: Non human and that was the assessment of people with direct knowledge on the program I talked to that are currently still on the program. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC): And was this documentary evidence video, photos, eyewitness like how would that be determined? David Grusch: The specific documentation, I would have to talk to you in a SCIF about that. 1:53:10 Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Commander Fravor, we've all seen the floating tic tac video that you engage with on November 14, 2004. Can you briefly talk about why you were off the coast of San Diego that day? Cmdr. David Fravor: Yeah, we were at a work up with all the battle groups. So we integrate the ships with the carrier, the airway with the carrier and we start working. So we were doing an air-to-air defense to hone not only our skills, but those of the USS Princeton, and when they had been tracking him for two weeks. The problem was, there were never manned aircraft airborne when they were tracking them. And this was the first day and unfortunately, we were the ones airborne and went and saw it. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Do you remember the weather that day? It was a cloudy or windy or anything out of the ordinary on the Pacific coast. Cmdr. David Fravor: If you're familiar with San Diego, it was a perfect day. Light winds, no whitecaps, clear skies, not a cloud. For flying, it was the best. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Now, is it true that you saw, in your words, a 40 foot flying tic tac shaped object? Cmdr. David Fravor: That's correct. Or for some people that can't know what a Tic Tac is, it's a giant flying propane tank. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Did this object come up on radar or interfere with your radar or the USS Princeton? Cmdr. David Fravor: The Princeton tracked it, the Nimitz tracked it, the E2 tracked it. We never saw it on our radars, our fire control radars never picked it up. The other airplane that took the video did get it on a radar as soon as it tried to lock in to jam the radar, spit the lock and he's rapidly switched over to the targeting pod which you can do in the F/A 18 Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): From what you saw that day and what you've seen on video. Did you see any source of propulsion from the flying object including on any potential thermal scans from your aircraft? Cmdr. David Fravor: No, there is none. There is no IR plume coming out. And Chad who took the video went through all the EO, which is black and white TV and the IR modes, and there's no visible signs of reflection. It's just sitting in space at 20,000 feet. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): In your career. Have you ever seen a propulsion system that creates no thermal exhaust? Cmdr. David Fravor: No. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Can you describe how the aircraft maneuvered? Cmdr. David Fravor: Abruptly, very determinant. It knew exactly what it was doing. It was aware of our presence. And it had acceleration rates, I mean, it went from zero to matching our speed and no time at all. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Now if the fastest plane on Earth was trained to do these maneuvers that you saw, would it be capable of doing that? Cmdr. David Fravor: No, not even close Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Just to confirm, this object had no wings, correct? Cmdr. David Fravor: No wings. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Now the aircraft that you were flying, was it armed? Cmdr. David Fravor: No, never felt threatened at all. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): If the aircraft was armed, do you believe that your aircraft or any aircraft in possession of the United States could have shot the tic tac down? Cmdr. David Fravor: I'd say no. Just on the performance, it would have just left in a split second. 1:58:10 Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN): Is there any indication that these UAPs could be essentially collecting reconnaissance information? Mr. Graves? Ryan Graves: Yes. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN): Mr. Grusch? David Grusch: Fair assessment. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN): Mr. Fravor? Cmdr. David Fravor: Very possible. 1:59:05 Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN): Mr. Graves and Fravor, in the event that your encounters had become hostile, would you have had the capability to defend yourself, your crew, your aircraft? Ryan Graves: Absolutely not. Cmdr. David Fravor: No. 2:00:55 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): I might have asked this before, but I want to make sure. Do you have any personal knowledge of someone who's possibly been injured working on legacy UAP reverse engineering? David Grusch: Yes. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Okay. How were they injured? Was it something like a radioactive type situation or something we didn't understand? I've heard people talk about Havana syndrome type incidences. What what was your recollection of that? David Grusch: I can't get into specifics, but you could imagine assessing an unknown unknown, there's a lot of potentialities you can't fully prepare for. 2:02:10 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Are you aware of any individuals that are participating in reverse engineering programs for non terrestrial craft? David Grusch: Personally, yes. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Do you know any that would be willing to testify if there were protections for them? David Grusch: Certainly closed door, and assurances that breaking their NDA, they're not going to get administratively punished. 2:03:45 Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL): Referring to your news nation interview, you had referenced specific treaties between governments. Article III of the nuclear arms treaty with Russia identifies UAPs. It specifically mentions them. To your knowledge. Are there safety measures in place with foreign governments or other superpowers to avoid an escalatory situation in the event that a UAP malevolent event occurs? David Grusch: Yeah, you're referring to an actual public treaty in the UN register. It's funny you mentioned that, the agreement on measures to reduce the risk of outbreak of a nuclear war signed in 1971, unclassified treaty publicly available. And if you cite the George Washington University national security archives, you will find the declassified, in 2013, specific provisions in this specific Red Line Flass message traffic with the specific codes pursuant to Article Three and also situation two, which is in the the previously classified NSA archive. What I would recommend and I tried to get access, but I got a wall of silence at the White House, was the specific incidents when those message traffic was used, I think some scholarship on that would open the door to a further investigation using those publicly available information. 2:05:20 David Grusch: I have concerns, based on the interviews I conducted under my official duties, of potential violations of the Federal Acquisition Regulations, the FAR. 2:06:10 Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): What was your general attitude or perspective on the UFO discussion before that happened? Cmdr. David Fravor: I never felt that we were alone with all the planets out there. But I wasn't a UFO person. I wasn't, I wasn't watching History Channel and MUFON and all that. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): And have you had any experiences or encounters since that happened? Cmdr. David Fravor: No. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): And so, have you formed any general conclusions about what you think you experienced then? Cmdr. David Fravor: Yes, I think what we experienced was, like I said, well beyond the material science and the capabilities that we had at the time, that we have currently, or that we're going to have in the next 10 to 20 years. 2:06:55 Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): You've been able to answer in great detail on certain questions, and then other things you say you're not able to respond to. Can you just explain where you're drawing the line? What's the basis for that? David Grusch: Yeah, based on my DOPSR security review and what they've determined that is unclassified. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): I see, so you're answering any questions that just call upon your knowledge of unclassified questions, but anything that relates to classified matters you're not commenting on in this context? David Grusch: In an open session, but happy to participate in a closed session at the right level. 2:08:15 Ryan Graves: Certainly I think the most vivid sighting of that would have been near mid air that we had at the entrance to our working area. One of these objects was completely stationary at the exact entrance to our working areas, not only geographically but also at altitude. So it was right where all the jets are going, essentially, on the Eastern Seaboard. The two aircraft flew within about 50 feet of the object and that was a very close visual sighting. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): And you were in one of the aircraft. Ryan Graves: I was not. I was there when the pilot landed. He canceled the mission after. I was there. He was in the ready room with all his gear on with his mouth open. And I asked him what the problem was and he said he almost hit one of those darn things. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): He said he was 50 feet away from it? Ryan Graves: Yes, sir. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): And his description of the object was consistent with the description you gave us before? Ryan Graves: A dark gray or black cube inside of a clear sphere. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): Inside of a clear sphere. With no self evident propulsion system. Ryan Graves:: No wings, no IR energy coming off of the vehicle, nothing tethering it to the ground. And that was primarily what we're experiencing out there. April 19, 2023 Senate Committee on Armed Services Witnesses: , Director, All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office Clips 2:00:50 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: The AARO team of more than three dozen experts is organized around four functional areas: operations, scientific research, integrated analysis, and strategic communications. 2:01:25 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: Consistent with legislative direction, AARO is also carefully reviewing and researching the US government's UAP-related historical record. 2:02:05 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: AARO is the culmination of decades of DOD, intelligence community, and congressionally directed efforts to successfully resolve UAP encountered first and foremost by US military personnel, specifically navy and air force pilots. 2:03:15 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: However, it would be naive to believe that the resolution of all UAP can be solely accomplished by the DOD and IC alone. We will need to prioritize collection and leverage authorities for monitoring all domains within the continental United States. AARO's ultimate success will require partnerships with the inner agency, industry partners, academia and the scientific community, as well as the public. 2:04:15 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: I want to underscore today that only a very small percentage of UAP reports display signatures that could reasonably be described as anomalous. The majority of unidentified objects reported to AARO demonstrate mundane characteristics of balloons, unmanned aerial systems, clutter, natural phenomena, or other readily explainable sources. While a large number of cases in our holdings remain technically unresolved, this is primarily due to a lack of data associated with those cases. Without sufficient data, we are unable to reach defendable conclusions that meet the high scientific standards we set for resolution, and I will not close a case that I cannot defend the conclusions of. 2:06:00 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: AARO is a member of the department's support to the administration's Tiger Team effort to deal with stratospheric objects such as the PRC high altitude balloon. When previously unknown objects are successfully identified, it is AARO's role to quickly and efficiently hand off such readily explainable objects to the intelligence, law enforcement, or operational safety communities for further analysis and appropriate action. In other words, AARO's mission is to turn UAP into SEP, Somebody Else's Problem. 2:07:30 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: I should also state clearly for the record that in our research, AARO has found no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity, offworld technology, or objects that defy the known laws of physics. In the event sufficient scientific data were ever obtained that a UAP encountered can only be explained by extraterrestrial origin, we are committed to working with our interagency partners at NASA to appropriately inform [the] U.S. government's leadership of its findings. For those few cases that have leaked to the public previously and subsequently commented on by the US government, I encourage those who hold alternative theories or views to submit your research to credible peer reviewed scientific journals. AARO is working very hard to do the same. That is how science works, not by blog or social media. 2:13:20 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: How are we going to get more data? We are working with the joint staff to issue guidance to all the services and commands that will then establish what are the reporting requirements, the timeliness, and all of the data that is required to be delivered to us and retained from all of the associated sensors. That historically hasn't been the case and it's been happenstance that data has been collected. 2:17:20 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: As of this week we are tracking over a total of 650 cases. 2:17:45 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: Let me walk everyone through what our analytic process looks like. We have essentially a five step process. We get our cases in with all the data, we create a case for that event. My team does a preliminary scrub of all of those cases as they come in, just to sort out, do we have any information that says this is in one of those likely categories? It's likely a balloon, it's likely a bird, it's likely some other object, or we don't know. Then we prioritize those based off of where they are. Are they attached to a national security area? Does it show some anomalous phenomenology that is of interest? If it's just a spherical thing that's floating around with the wind and it has no payload on it, that's going to be less important than something that has a payload on it, which will be less important than something that's maneuvering. So there's sort of a hierarchy of just binning the priorities, because we can't do all of them at once. Once we do that and we prioritize them, we take that package of data in that case and I have set up two teams, think of this as a Red Team Blue Team, or competitive analysis. I have an intelligence community team made up of intelligence analysts and I have an S&T team made up of scientists and engineers, and the people that actually build a lot of these sensors are physicists, because you know, if you're a physicist, you can do anything. But they're not associated with the intel community, they're not intel officers. So they they look at this through the lens of the sensor, of what the data says. We give that package to both teams. The intelligence community is going to look at it through the lens of the intelligence record, and what they assess, and their intel tradecraft, which they have very specific rules and regulations on how they do that. The scientific community, the technical community is going to look at it through the lens of "What is the data telling me? What is the sensor doing? What would I expect a sensor response to be?" and back that out. Those two groups give us their answers. We then adjudicate. If they agree, then I am more likely to close that case, if they agree on what it is. If they disagree, we will have an adjudication. We'll bring them together, we'll take a look at the differences, we'll adjudicate. Why do you say one thing and you say another? We will then come to a case recommendation that will get written up by my team. That then goes to a Senior Technical Advisory Group, which is outside of all of those people, made up of senior technical folks and intel analysts and operators retired out of the community. And they essentially peer review what that case recommendation is. They write their recommendations, that comes back to me, I review it, we make a determination, and I'll sign off one way or the other, and then that will go out as the case determination. Once we have an approved web portal to hang the unclassified stuff, we will downgrade and declassify things and put it out there. In the meantime, we're putting a lot of these on our classified web portal where we can then collaborate with the rest of the community so they can see what's going on. In a nutshell, that is the process. 2:27:10 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: There are emerging capabilities out there that in many instances, Russia and China, China in particular, are on par or ahead of us in some areas. So previously, I used to be the Defense Department's intelligence officer for science and technical intelligence. That was our job to look for, what does all that look like? And then my last several years of course, in Space Command, doing space. The adversary is not waiting. They are advancing and they're advancing quickly. If I were to put on some of my old hats, I would tell you, they are less risk averse at technical advancement than we are. They are just willing to try things and see if it works. Are there capabilities that could be employed against us in both an ISR and a weapons fashion? Absolutely. Do I have evidence that they're doing it in these cases? No, but I have concerning indicators. 2:43:45 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: So the vision is, at one point, at some point in the future, you should not need an AARO. If I'm successful in what I'm doing, we should be able to normalize everything that we're doing into existing processes, functions, agencies and organizations, and make that part of their mission and their role. Right now the niche that we form is really going after the unknowns. I think you articulated it early on, this is a hunt mission for what might somebody be doing in our backyard that we don't know about? That is what we are doing, but at some point, we should be able to normalize that. That's why it's so important the work we're doing with joint staff to normalize that into DoD policy and guidance. We are bringing in all of our interagency partners. So NASA is providing a liaison for us, I have FBI liaison, I have OSI liaison, I have service liaisons, half of my staff come from the [Intelligence Community], half of my staff come from other scientific and technical backgrounds, I have DOE. So what we're trying to do is ensure, again, as I make UAP into SEP they get handed off to the people that that is their mission to go do, so that we aren't duplicating that. I'm not going to go chase the Chinese high altitude balloon, for example. That's not my job. It's not an unknown, and it's not anomalous anymore. Now it goes over to them. May 17, 2022 House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Witnesses: , Deputy Director, Office of Naval Intelligence , Under Secretary of Defense Intelligence and Security, Department of Defense Clips 10:00 Ronald Moultrie: The NDAA for fiscal year 2022 has helped us to establish a dedicated office to oversee processes and procedures for the timely collection, processing, analysis, and reporting of UAP related data. 10:15 Ronald Moultrie: What are UAP? Put simply, UAP are airborne objects that, when encountered, cannot be immediately identified. 10:25 Ronald Moultrie: It is the department's contention that by combining appropriately structured, collected data with rigorous scientific analysis, any object that we encounter can likely be isolated, characterized, identified and if necessary, mitigated. 10:40 Ronald Moultrie: We know that our service members have encountered unidentified aerial phenomenon. And because UAPs pose potential flight safety and general security risks, we are committed to a focused effort to determine their origins. Our effort will include the thorough examination of adversarial platforms and potential breakthrough technologies, US government or commercial platforms, Allied or partner systems, and other natural phenomena. 11:15 Ronald Moultrie: We also understand that there has been a cultural stigma surrounding UAP. Our goal is to eliminate the stigma by fully incorporating our operators and mission personnel into a standardized data gathering process. We believe that making UAP reporting a mission imperative will be instrumental to the effort's success. 11:45 Ronald Moultrie: To optimize the department's UAP work, we are establishing an office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. That office's function is clear: to facilitate the identification of previously unknown or unidentified airborne objects in a methodical, logical, and standardized manner. 13:50 Scott Bray: Since the early 2000s, we have seen an increasing number of unauthorized and or unidentified aircraft or objects in military controlled training areas and training ranges and other designated airspace. Reports of sightings are frequent and continuing. We attribute this increase in reporting to a number of factors, including our work to destigmatize reporting, an increase in the number of new systems such as quad copters and unmanned aerial systems that are in our airspace, identification of what we can classify as clutter (mylar balloons and other types of of air trash), and improvements in the capabilities of our various sensors to detect things in our airspace. 14:50 Scott Bray: The basic issues, then and now, are twofold. First, incursions in our training ranges by unidentified objects represent serious hazards to safety of flight. In every aspect of naval aviation, safety of our air crews is paramount. Second, intrusions by unknown aircraft or objects pose potential threats to the security of our operations. Our aviators train as they would fight, so any intrusions that may compromise the security of our operations by revealing our capabilities, our tactics, techniques or procedures are of great concern to the Navy and Department of Defense. 16:40 Scott Bray: The direct result of those efforts has been increased reporting with increased opportunities to focus a number of sensors on any objects. The message is now clear: if you see something, you need to report it. And the message has been received. 18:55 Scott Bray: As detailed in the ODNI report, if and when individual UAP incidents are resolved, they likely fall into one of five potential explanatory categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, US government or US industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems, or another bin that allows for a holding bin of difficult cases, and for the possibility of surprise and potential scientific discovery. 22:20 Scott Bray: If UAP do indeed represent a potential threat to our security then the capabilities, systems, processes and sources we use to observe, record, study, or analyze these phenomena need to be classified at appropriate levels. We do not want, we do not want potential adversaries to know exactly what we're able to see or understand or how we come to the conclusions we make. Therefore, public disclosures must be carefully considered on a case by case basis. 23:35 Rep André Carson (D-IN): This is the third version of this task force and, to be frank, one of Congress's concerns is that the executive branch, in administrations of both parties, has been sweeping concerns about UAPs under the rug by focusing on events that can be explained and avoiding events that cannot be explained. What can you say to give the American people confidence that you aren't just focusing our attention on low hanging fruit with easy explanations? Ronald Moultrie: Congressman, I'll start and then Mr. Bray, please feel free to weigh in. So the way that we're approaching it is with a more thorough, standardized methodology than what we have in the past. First and foremost, the Secretary Defense is chartering this effort, this is not someone lower in the Department of Defense, and he is assigned that task to the Office of Secretary of Defense's Under Secretary for Intelligence Security, that's me, because I'm responsible for looking at intelligence matters, I'm responsible for security matters, and this is potentially both. So we're concerning ourselves with the safety of our personnel, the safety of our installations and bases. There's no other higher power than what we have in actually getting after this. And as you have stated, we have been assigned that task to actually stand up an office, the AOIMSG, which I believe the name server will likely change, but we have moved forward in terms of moving to establish that office. We have, as of this week, picked the director for that effort, a very established and accomplished individual. 42:00 Scott Bray: I would say that we're not aware of any adversary that can move an object without discernible means of propulsion. The question then becomes, in many of these cases where we don't have a discernible means of propulsion in the data that we have, in some cases, there are likely sensor artifacts that that may be hiding some of that, there's certainly some degree of something that looks like signature management that we have seen from some of these UAP. But I would caution, I would simply say that there are a number of other events in which we do not have an explanation. There are a small handful in which there are flight characteristics or signature management that we can't explain with the data that we have. 43:40 Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA): With respect to the second two videos showing the small triangles, the hypothesis is that those are commercial drones that because of the use of night vision goggles appear like triangles, is that the operating assessment? Scott Bray: Some type of drone, some type of unmanned aerial system, and it is simply that that light source resolves itself through the night vision goggles onto the SLR camera as a triangle. 47:55 Scott Bray: Allies have seen these, China has established its own version of the UAP task force. So clearly a number of countries have observations of things in the airspace that they can identify. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH): And do we share data with some, with all? Are they sharing with us? Scott Bray: We share data with some and some share data with us. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH): But not necessarily all that have publicly reported something? Scott Bray: That's correct. 52:25 Scott Bray: When I say we can't explain, I mean, exactly as you describe there, that there's a lot of information, like the video that we showed, in which there's simply too little data to create a reasonable explanation. There are a small handful of cases in which we have more data that our analysis simply hasn't been able to fully pull together a picture of what happened. Those are the cases where we talked about where we see some indications of flight characteristics or signature management that are not what we had expected. When it comes to material that we have, we have no material. We have detected no emanations within the UAP task force that would suggest it's anything non-terrestrial in origin. 59:35 Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): There have been no collisions between any US assets and one of these UAPs, correct? Scott Bray: We have not had a collision, we've had at least 11 near misses though. 59:55 Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): And there's been no attempt, there's no communications, or any kind of communication signals that emanate from those objects that we've detected, correct? Scott Bray: That's correct. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): And have we attempted to communicate with those objects? Scott Bray: No. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): So we don't we don't even put out an alert saying, you know, "U.S., identify yourself, you are within our flight path," or something like that? Scott Bray: We haven't said anything like that. We've not put anything out like that, generally speaking. For example, in the video that we showed earlier, it appears to be something that is unmanned, appears to be something that may or may not be in controlled flight, and so we've not attempted any communication with that. 1:00:55 Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): And I assume we've never discharged any armaments against a UAP, correct? Scott Bray: That's correct. 1:01:05 Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): How about wreckage? Have we come across any wreckage of any kind of object that has now been examined by you? Scott Bray: The UAP task force doesn't have any wreckage that isn't explainable, that isn't consistent with being of terrestrial origin. 1:01:20 Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): Do we have any sensors underwater to detect on submerged UAPs, anything that is in the ocean or in the seas? Ronald Moultrie: So I think that would be more properly addressed in a closed session. 1:05:30 Ronald Moultrie: So one of the concerns that we have is that there are a lot of individuals and groups that are putting information out there that that could be considered to be somewhat self serving. We're trying to do what's in the best interests of, one, the Department of Defense, and then two, what's in the best interest of the public, to ensure that we can put factually based information back into the mainstream and back into the bloodstream of the reporting media that we have, so people understand what's there. It's important because we are attempting, as this hearing has drawn out to understand, one, what may just be natural phenomenon, two, what may be sensor phenomenology or things that were happening with sensors, three, what may be legitimate counterintelligence threats to places that we have or bases or installations, or security threats to our platforms. And anything that diverts us off of what we have with the resources that have been allocated to us, sends us off in the spurious chases and hunts that are just not helpful. They also contribute to the undermining of the confidence that the Congress and the American people have that we are trying to get to the root cause of what's happening here, report on that, and then feed that back into our national security apparatus so we are able to protect the American people and our allies. So it is harmful, it is hurtful, but hopefully, if we get more information out there, w

Interview with Jacqui Reed about Whistleblower Protection Act by Radio Islam

Rene Thomas Folse, JD, Ph.D. is the host for this edition which reports on the following news stories: WCAB En Banc Rejects "Vocational" Theory of Apportionment. Caregiver Injury During Transit Not Barred by Going and Coming Rule. Chamber of Commerce & Others Sue Government Over Drug Pricing Plan. Riverside Nursing Facility Resolves Doctor Kickback Case for $3.8M. CWCI Reviews California Private Self-Insureds' 2022 Claim Experience. UCSF Study Shows Calif ER Demand Increasing as ER Facilities Decline. Is the New Tenth Annual FDA Report on Drug Shortages Accurate? Biden Suspends VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act.

In a recent decision, the Merit Systems Protection Board confirmed that people are covered by the Whistleblower Protection Act, even if they blew the whistle before applying for a federal job. The board disagreed with a federal court, but upheld the board's own precedent. For the significance of this case, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke to attorneys Christine Kumar and James Eisenmann of the Alden Law Group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a recent decision, the Merit Systems Protection Board confirmed that people are covered by the Whistleblower Protection Act, even if they blew the whistle before applying for a federal job. The board disagreed with a federal court, but upheld the board's own precedent. For the significance of this case, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke to attorneys Christine Kumar and James Eisenmann of the Alden Law Group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The National Security Hour with Edward Haugland – With the Weaponization of the Federal Government, it is critical to ensure we protect whistleblowers by overhauling the Whistleblower Protection Act. In this episode, I will detail my own personal experience as a whistleblower in the Intelligence Community. Three key questions to ask yourself…

Captain Ritter's actions to help these younger female officers were actually fulfilling his duties and responsibilities. The punitive actions taken against him are major violations by Command of the military's own ”Whistleblower Protection Act.” DrLee4America and guests Army Captain Seth Ritter and Navy Commander Rob Green discuss these massive attempts to weaponize psychiatry in the military...

Captain Ritter's actions to help these younger female officers were actually fulfilling his duties and responsibilities. The punitive actions taken against him are major violations by Command of the military's own ”Whistleblower Protection Act.” DrLee4America and guests Army Captain Seth Ritter and Navy Commander Rob Green discuss these massive attempts to weaponize psychiatry in the military...

In this episode, we discuss limitations on what kind of whistleblowing claims will be protected under the amended Whistleblower Protection Act, which employers the amendment applies to, what actions employers are required to take under the Act and much more. Subscribe to our podcast today to stay up to date on employment issues from law experts worldwide.Host: Cynthia Chung (Deacons / Hong Kong)Guest Speaker: Rikisuke Yamanaka (Ushijima & Partners / Japan)Visit the ELA website at www.ela.law.

Attorney Jim Keaney provides background and insight on Missouri's Whistleblower Protection Act.

Hackers Defaced Twitch / Google Big Moments / CA Signs Whistleblower Protection Act

In 2017, Congress passed the landmark VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act as a way to make it easier to fire Veterans Affairs employees while fairly treating them. The rule, however, has seen mixed results and two court cases recently knocked down the VA's interpretation of the law. Conor D. Dirks is an attorney at the firm of Shaw Bransford & Roth, where he has represented federal officials and employees in all aspects of federal personnel employment law. He wrote a case law update about the two cases affecting the VA headlined “Federal Circuit Knocks Down VA's Interpretation of 2017 'Accountability” Law'" on Fedmanager.com. He joined the show to discuss the cases and the future of disciplinary action in the government.  

Not one but two bills would add vim and vigor to the Whistleblower Protection Act as it applies to the Veterans Affairs Department. Joining the Federal Drive with summaries and why she thinks they're a good idea, the policy counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, Melissa Wasser.

PR veteran and whistleblower Paula Pedene joins Tim to tell her story of what it’s like to blow the whistle on government waste and other improper practices, including manipulation of VA Hospital waitlists that may have cost patients their lives. When Paula became aware of it all, she spoke up, paid the price and now has a story to tell about what it’s like to be a whistleblower. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Paula_Pedene_-_Whistleblower_auphonic.mp3 The federal government established its Whistleblower Protection Program to make sure federal employees or contractors don’t have to worry about reprisals if they disclose allegations of serious wrongdoing or gross mismanagement. This all falls under the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 which specifically prohibits reprisal. The act states that it is unlawful for agencies to take or threaten to take a personnel action against an employee because he or she disclosed wrongdoing. A personnel actions could be anything from a poor performance review or a demotion, to suspension or termination. The act expressly prohibits retaliation for filing an appeal, complaint, or grievance; helping someone else file or testifying on their behalf; or cooperating with or disclosing information to the Office of Inspector General. So, what kind of disclosures are protected? a violation of any law, rule, or regulation mismanagement a gross waste of funds an abuse of authority a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety That all sounds good on paper, but as we’ll find out today, it gets a bit more complicated in real life. Paula Pedene is the former chief spokesperson for the VA Hospital in Phoenix. After she complained up the chain of command about mismanagement at the hospital, she was demoted and had her desk moved to the basement in the building. A sort of office space solitary confinement. And that was the result of her first attempt to draw attention to some major management issues. A second whistleblower experience would follow. That’s an overview, but as Paula says, this all didn’t happen overnight. This is a special episode in honor of Veterans Day. Links Paula Pedene and Associates For Whistleblowers, a Bold Move Can Be Followed by One to Department Basement, Washington Post Meet Paula Pedene, former VA Whistleblower Now Phoenix Veterans Day Parade Organizer, Phoenix Business Journal About this Episode's Guest Paula Pedene Paula Pedene has a well-earned reputation as a public relations strategist and counselor in both government and non-profit realms. She demonstrates a proven ability to envision and build mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its stakeholders that results in winning outcomes. Pedene became a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Public Affairs Officer in 1991 and credited her Public Relations Society of America learning and leadership as her guiding light. She has earned three PRSA Silver Anvil awards and additional awards including: PRSA Silver Anvil, Institutional Programs (2004) PRSA Silver Anvil, Reputation Management (2007) PRSA Silver Anvil, Community Outreach (2010) PRSA PR Professional of the Year for her government whistleblowing activities (2015) Since 1997, she has been the driving force behind the Phoenix Veterans Day Parade in its creative development and coordination. She leads the team, organizing 2,500 people as parade entries. As media relations director she generated millions of impressions and helped attract 45,000 people to the event. She advocates for veterans through her volunteerism as a Public Relations Director on the Honoring America’s Veterans board.

PR veteran and whistleblower Paula Pedene joins Tim to tell her story of what it's like to blow the whistle on government waste and other improper practices, including manipulation of VA Hospital waitlists that may have cost patients their lives. When Paula became aware of it all, she spoke up, paid the price and now has a story to tell about what it's like to be a whistleblower. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Paula_Pedene_-_Whistleblower_auphonic.mp3 The federal government established its Whistleblower Protection Program to make sure federal employees or contractors don't have to worry about reprisals if they disclose allegations of serious wrongdoing or gross mismanagement. This all falls under the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 which specifically prohibits reprisal. The act states that it is unlawful for agencies to take or threaten to take a personnel action against an employee because he or she disclosed wrongdoing. A personnel actions could be anything from a poor performance review or a demotion, to suspension or termination. The act expressly prohibits retaliation for filing an appeal, complaint, or grievance; helping someone else file or testifying on their behalf; or cooperating with or disclosing information to the Office of Inspector General. So, what kind of disclosures are protected? a violation of any law, rule, or regulation mismanagement a gross waste of funds an abuse of authority a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety That all sounds good on paper, but as we'll find out today, it gets a bit more complicated in real life. Paula Pedene is the former chief spokesperson for the VA Hospital in Phoenix. After she complained up the chain of command about mismanagement at the hospital, she was demoted and had her desk moved to the basement in the building. A sort of office space solitary confinement. And that was the result of her first attempt to draw attention to some major management issues. A second whistleblower experience would follow. That's an overview, but as Paula says, this all didn't happen overnight. This is a special episode in honor of Veterans Day. Links Paula Pedene and Associates For Whistleblowers, a Bold Move Can Be Followed by One to Department Basement, Washington Post Meet Paula Pedene, former VA Whistleblower Now Phoenix Veterans Day Parade Organizer, Phoenix Business Journal About this Episode's Guest Paula Pedene Paula Pedene has a well-earned reputation as a public relations strategist and counselor in both government and non-profit realms. She demonstrates a proven ability to envision and build mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its stakeholders that results in winning outcomes. Pedene became a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Public Affairs Officer in 1991 and credited her Public Relations Society of America learning and leadership as her guiding light. She has earned three PRSA Silver Anvil awards and additional awards including: PRSA Silver Anvil, Institutional Programs (2004) PRSA Silver Anvil, Reputation Management (2007) PRSA Silver Anvil, Community Outreach (2010) PRSA PR Professional of the Year for her government whistleblowing activities (2015) Since 1997, she has been the driving force behind the Phoenix Veterans Day Parade in its creative development and coordination. She leads the team, organizing 2,500 people as parade entries. As media relations director she generated millions of impressions and helped attract 45,000 people to the event. She advocates for veterans through her volunteerism as a Public Relations Director on the Honoring America's Veterans board.

Tom R. Pabst has dedicated his legal career to obtaining justice for the underdog, the weak, the powerless and those without a voice.  He is recognized by his peers as one of the best trial attorneys in Michigan.  He has obtained over a dozen million dollar jury awards for his clients in his career. As a trial attorney, Tom R. Pabst is recognized by Judges as being in the top 5% of attorneys in Michigan.  Trial experience includes over 80 major trials with substantial verdicts in the following areas of law:  wrongful discharge, civil rights, Whistleblower Protection Act, Federal Constitutional rights, personal injury, medical malpractice and commercial litigation. He was recognized as a 2011 “Leader in the Law” in Michigan and a Michigan “Super Lawyer” since 2007.   He was elected by his peers as President of the Genesee County Bar Association (1994-95), President of the Flint Trial Lawyers Association (1991-1994) and Chairperson of the Bench and Bar Committee. Attorney Tom R. Pabst has been practicing law since November, 1977, having both a law degree and a master’s in tax degree (with an all-A average) from Wayne State University.  He practices law in Flint Township, Michigan. Website of Tom R. Pabst: http://tomrpabstpc.com/attorneys --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/radiofreeflint/message

Ep 291 - The Bravery of Whistleblowers Guest: Jeffrey Sterling   According to Fuad Alakbarov, the Azerbaijani-Scottish human rights activist,  “Every country needs its whistleblowers. They are crucial to a healthy society. The employee who, in the public interest, has the independence of judgement and the personal courage to challenge malpractice or illegality is a kind of public hero.”   Brave heroes to be sure. Take the example of Dr Ai Fen, the Director of the Emergency Department at the Central Hospital in Wuhan, who shared information about COVID-19 with other doctors in late December. Dr Ai and the others have since been arrested or their whereabouts are unknown, according to the Times of Israel.   According to the University of Southampton, if China had intervened at that time, the transmission of COVID-19 could have been reduced by 95 percent. The government of China hid the truth. At great risk to themselves, people stand up to the suppression of the truth, be it in China or any other country where those in power seek to conceal the facts.   In the United States, the Whistleblower Protection Act was enacted in 1989 - an act that many whistleblowers say provided them with little or no protection. Former CIA agent Jeffrey Sterling in his book, “Unwanted Spy,” says the very act of carrying out his duty to report wrongdoing cost him his job and eventually his liberty.   What started as a discrimination complaint turned into allegations of leaking confidential information that led to jail time. He has since been released from prison and continues to shine a light on government wrongdoing.    Thanks to the support of the Allard Prize for International Integrity, we were able to arrange an online interview with Jeffrey Sterling for a Conversation That Matters about the overwhelming need to protect the brave women and men who simply can not turn their heads away from an injustice.   Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the Morris J Wosk Center for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. The production of this program is made possible thanks to the support of the following and viewers like you. Please become a Patreon subscriber and support the production of this program, with a $1 pledge https://goo.gl/ypXyDs

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for Saturday May 9th, 2020. Global cases edge toward 4 million, with over 275,000 deaths. The Press Secretary for Vice President Pence has tested positive for the virus. The commissioner of the FDA will self-isolate after reportedly coming in to contact with the Press Secretary. The Federal Office of Special Counsel, has determined that Health and Human Services violated the Whistleblower Protection Act by removing Dr. Bright as director of BARDA, reports CBS News. Hawaii recorded no new cases of COVID-19 for the first time since mid-March. The Governor of California announced that ballots will be mailed to all registered voters for the November election. The FDA has approved the first COVID-19 test that tests saliva collected at home. Seoul, South Korea has shut all bars and night clubs after a cluster of the virus was tracked to a nightclub. The UK will require anyone entering the country to quarantine for 14 days starting in June. Around 2 million Canadians lost their jobs in April, adding to the one million who lost jobs in March. One thousand baseball fans in Taiwan were allowed to watch a game in the stadium on Friday, social distancing protocols were observed. The locations of hotspots and U.S and Country diagnoses in a moment. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bob and Andrew bring in nonpartisan legal expert Bradley P. Moss, Esq., to explain the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989. Mr. Moss tells us how it works, the unique situation regarding the President with respect to the Act, and how the process may move forward. Download the full transcript here.

Bob and Andrew bring in nonpartisan legal expert Bradley P. Moss, Esq., to explain the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989. Mr. Moss tells us how it works, the unique situation regarding the President with respect to the Act, and how the process may move forward. Download the full transcript here.

Bob and Andrew bring in nonpartisan legal expert Bradley P. Moss, Esq., to explain the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989. Mr. Moss tells us how it works, the unique situation regarding the President with respect to the Act, and how the process may move forward. Download the full transcript here.

Few federal management challenges are as vexing as how to deal with whistleblowers. For whistleblowers, things can be even tougher. They face retaliation and job loss. To mark the 30th anniversary of the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Project on Government Oversight, or POGO, has teamed with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Government Accountability Project to produce a new survival guide for whistleblowers. POGO executive director Danielle Brian joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin with details.

Today, we’re talking about the Trump economy, and the state of the US market. Love him or hate him, America is doing better than ever – Trump just can’t stop winning when it comes to a lot of political and economic factors. In his first 2 years in office President Donald J. Trump has achieved results domestically and internationally for the American people – he is the first President in my lifetime that seems to be putting his own countries interest first rather than signing a bunch of international pacts that look after other countries more so than his own. The American economy is stronger, American workers are experiencing more opportunities, confidence is soaring, and business is booming. Why is this going on? What we hear in the media is that America is going through so much trouble President Trump has put the American people first and made government more accountable – he is one of the most transparent Presidents in America’s history. I will focus on the economics in this episode, but with that said, Trump has turned ISIS into an afterthought, and de-escalated tension with North Korea The share market may have corrected but it is still massively up.   The play by play: America Economy is Stronger - American workers are better off thanks to President Trump’s ‘pro-growth’ agenda Evidence – Share Market – Still Up 33% since Oct 2016 and the ASX only up 7.5% since then GDP Growth – 4.2% - which has beaten all expectations Nearly 3 million jobs have been created – 304k manufacturing, and 337k construction (Highest levels since 2008) Unemployment rate has dropped to 3.7, the lowest rate in over 50 years. Job openings have reached 7 million, the highest level recorded. Gallup Polls – 67% of Americans believe now is a good time to find a quality job Only under President Trump have more than 50% of Americans believed it is a good time to find a quality job since Gallup began asking the question 17 years ago. Restored confidence in the American economy, with confidence among both consumers and businesses reaching historic highs. Consumer confidence has reached a 17-year high Manufacturers and small business confidence/optimism hit record highs Energy production – Net energy exporter Trump travelled the world to promote the sale and use of U.S. energy How? Work Force changes and taxation – Leading to confidence Job training and workforce development to empower workers to seize more opportunities, signing an Executive order to expand apprenticeship opportunities. This is great for an economy – Everyone keeps saying that replacement of humans by technology is going to replace us – hearing that for hundreds of years – but, we adapt! Do you think that a medieval serf, where 80+% of the population were farming based populations – think that a computer engineer, or pilot would be an occupation? We are adaptable – why we are the #1 species Each American now gets more money in their account each week – Most Americans are now earning more due to the income tax cuts The top corporate tax rate was lowered from 35 percent to 21 percent so American businesses could be more competitive. This has caused companies to bring back money into America. President Trump signed historic tax cuts and Jobs Act into law, cutting taxes for American families and making American business more competitive. President Trump has rolled back unnecessary job-killing regulations beyond expectations. When you make it easier for business to operate – they do wonders for the economy The free market can choose very efficiently – Someone gets sick from eating at a restaurant for example. In the modern age, someone has invented an app letting people know that it may not be the best restaurant to go to. Businesses are incentivised to give the best service – or lose customers in the long run once loyalty runs out In 2017, President Trump far exceeded his promise to eliminate regulations at a two-to-one ratio, issuing 22 deregulatory actions for every new regulatory action, saving $8.1 billion. Fair Trade – lower regulations Since taking office, President Trump has advanced free, fair, and reciprocal trade deals that protect American workers, ending decades of destructive trade policies. Torn on this – Free trade is good, but not everyone wins Days after taking office, the President withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and agreement. Made good on his campaign promise to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Opened up the North American Free Trade Agreement for talks to better the deal for the U.S. Worked to bring companies back to the U.S., and companies like Toyota, Mazda, Broadcom Limited, and Foxconn announced plans to open U.S. plants. Trump wasn’t entirely wrong. Companies from developed countries that signed up to the deal, such as Japan and the United States, would have outsourced to developing countries that have low-cost labour and fewer labour laws, such as Vietnam. In which case, unemployment in developed countries could have risen. Accountability and transparency – lower regulations Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, improving processes for addressing misconduct Government shouldn’t be clandestine – which has been the trouble in the US for a while now. They have never been too forthcoming with information. Cleaning out the FBI and DOJ for individuals who allowed politicians to break the law Likely chance that Military Tribunals coming in the next few months Why this is all so important? Gets barriers to the free market out of the way – Increases incentive and transparency Peoples’ behaviours change over time in relation to what incentives are around Gives confidence – Has a clear stable message – Strong leadership If a country has a clear direction it goes well even in tough times Example – War times, a uniting factor is the best thing for a country/culture In WW2 the English were bonded – some even missed the war times, as back then they were all in it, bonded by their comradery, when they worked together for survival, helping one another In Brisbane, Australia – In the floods people were really nice to each other, with strangers helping strangers Hard to achieve in democracy – as there will always be tribalism. But unifying factors in countries are important Has to come from what people want – having a good life and being free Here’s the take away Regulations and taxation hand in hand lead to a society declining in economic power It has happened throughout history Rome is a good example – Went away from a republic where there were many representatives, to an Empire with one dictator ruling them all, and it became a popularity contest. It is the cycle of all empires – we just need to realise the signs and ignore the noise Always vote for freedom over free stuff It is trading good stuff now for less freedom in the future It is best to focus on your individual freedom – Building wealth – Increasing your own ability to take care of yourself Be wary of the trap of voting for economic instant gratification – Economic freedom is better Instant gratification / Gain through handouts might feel good now, but reduces potential in the future Working for what you own – nothing feels better. The first $1,000 I earned as a 14yo felt pretty good, especially at $8 an hour  

The House Veterans Affairs Committee has mixed reviews of the new law it passed nearly one year ago. The committee checked in with the department about its implementation of the new accountability act. The VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act was a long-awaited and hailed piece of bipartisan legislation. But both Republicans and Democrats say they have some concerns. Federal News Radio's Nicole Ogrysko had more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

It's been over a year now since President Donald Trump signed the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act into law. The president and top VA leadership at the time said the new law gave them much-needed authority to fire employees more quickly and hold senior executives more accountable. The department has been able to get slightly more people out the door but it's not any faster at firing the top people who make the big decisions. Federal News Radio's Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for a look at the numbers.

Employees say the Veterans Affairs Department's interpretation of the Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act doesn't give them enough time to improve performance. Federal News Radio's Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to provide more details.

Listen to the president during the State of the Union speech last month and you'd think the Veterans Affairs Department is firing its way to greatness. But in fact not that much has changed for VA employees since passage of the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act last year. Jeff Neal, former chief human capital officer at Homeland Security and vice president at ICF, has been following the law and its aftermath carefully. He joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss the Act.

President Donald Trump wants the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, which he signed into law last summer, to serve as a model for other agencies.

Several items of interest are discussed this week by Peter Broida:Perry v. MSPB (Supreme Court June 23, 2017) (district court jurisdiction to review MSPB mixed-case jurisdictional dismissals);Follow the Rules Act;Act Authorizing Single MSPB Member to Extend OSC Stays in the Absence of a Board Quorum;Department of Veteran Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017

06-23-2017 - President Trump Signs the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 - audio English

Congressman Jodey Arrington (R-TX 19), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity for the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, breaks down why we need the recently-passed VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act. Ambassador Gerald Feierstein updates us on the diplomatic crisis brewing in the Middle East after five Arab nations cut ties with Qatar.

Shut Up I'm Talking - Episode 5 - 2013-08-11(Visit suitalkingblog.blogspot.com for links)(The following links are to things we talked about in this podcast) NPR Snowden ArticleWhistleblower Protection Act History of the Espionage Act SOE Live EverQuest Next Disney Cruise Line Disney Vacation Club"The Mary Sue" on Con Harassment  Iowa State Fair FoodThug Notes Buy Silver Spoon on Amazon Buy Penn & Teller: Bullshit! on iTunes (Link is for Season 1 only, but all seasons are available)Follow us on Twitter: Shut Up I'm Talking (@SUITshow); Matthew (@matthewbann); Neil (@neilrenken); Ann (@aretzken) Like us on Facebook! Subscribe to our YouTube channel!