Whistleblower's Information Deleted by Treasury Department Before Report Went to Congress

"This case is about the Bush Administration censoring the information available to the Congress and the American people, who are paying for these loans" - Jeff Ruch, PEER

09.28.04

In 2002, John M. Fitzgerald was the sole environmental analyst at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), monitoring reviews and compliance on complex overseas development projects funded by loans that included U.S. dollars. That September, USAID eliminated his position without warning, and Fitzgerald was forced to leave.

Suspecting that the move was retaliation for his attempts to report legal violations and environmental mismanagement to Congress, Fitzgerald filed a complaint with the Merit Systems Protection Board, a civil service court.

On September 1, the Board agreed with Fitzgerald, ruling that his disclosures were protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act, and that making them contributed to the elimination of his job. He is now entitled to a full hearing to determine if he is to be reinstated, along with possible financial compensation.

Andrew Natsios, Administrator for USAID

Fitzgerald named several federal officials in his complaint, including Bush administration appointees Andrew Natsios, Administrator for USAID, and John Taylor, the U.S. Treasury Department Undersecretary for International Affairs.

Fitzgerald charged that USAID gave in to pressure from the Treasury Department, which was seeking approval to finance energy projects in South America, Africa and Eastern Europe. Fitzgerald had been preparing reports detailing a pervasive lack of environmental reviews, poor planning for likely environmental problems, and a failure to consider alternatives to highly environmentally destructive proposals. [1]

In an analysis of a proposed Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline project, Fitzgerald wrote that the pipeline developers themselves had done the environmental assessment, rather than the governments involved, as required by the World Bank (which was helping to finance the project).

He noted that issues such as financial and legal responsibility for oil spills, creation of parks and wildlife habitat to compensate for the areas lost to the project, and the impacts on indigenous and poor peoples were not being addressed.

Treasury officials removed this information from Fitzgerald's report before it was delivered to Congress. [2]

“This case is about the Bush Administration censoring the information available to the Congress and the American people, who are paying for these loans,” stated PEER Executive director Jeff Ruch, noting that since Fitzgerald’s departure the required bi-annual reports to Congress have ceased. “These reviews are supposed to prevent needless environmental catastrophes in countries desperate for investment.”

A U.S. law--the "Pelosi Amendment" to the International Development and Finance Act of 1989-- requires U.S. representatives to international development banks, such as the World Bank, to deny U.S. support to projects that have not had environmental reviews.

The Pelosi Amendment requires biannual reports to Congress. Since Fitzgerald's departure two years ago, no reports have been made. [3]

President George W. Bush created the Center for Faith Based Initiatives at USAID by executive order on December 12, 2002 in order to work to level the playing field so that faith-based and community-based groups could compete for funding on a level playing field with other organizations. The Center and its staff of five are located within the Administrator's Bureau at USAID in Washington DC.

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