Congress approves federal whistleblower protections ●"Overturn court decisions that narrowed protections for government whistleblowers." ●"Give whistleblower protections to employees who are not currently covered, including Transportation Security Administration officers." ●"Restore the Office of Special Counsel's ability to seek disciplinary actions against supervisors who retaliate." ●"Hold agencies accountable for retaliatory investigations." "The WPEA closes many loopholes and upgrades protections for federal workers who blow the whistle on waste, fraud, abuse and illegality," said Angela Canterbury, director of public policy for the Project On Government Oversight. Akaka said it is important to "protect public servant whistleblowers who risk their careers to disclose waste, fraud and abuse. They make the federal government more effective and save taxpayers money. With the Senate's action, "free speech rights for government employees never have been stronger," said Tom Devine, legal director of the Government Accountability Project. After Congress did not include whistleblower protections for national security and intelligence employees, Obama issued a Presidential Policy Directive prohibiting retaliation against them for exposing waste, fraud and abuse. Contractor pay A coalition of labor and public interest organizations is using the possibility of steep federal budget cuts to urge Congress to lower the cap on compensation for federal contractors working for non-defense agencies. The coalition's Nov. 13 letter to Capitol Hill is similar to one sent last month regarding Pentagon contractors. In the current letter to the top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate and House Appropriations subcommittees on financial services and general government, the organizations said "with budget cuts and sequestration looming, it is fiscally irresponsible to allow private contractors to charge escalating and exorbitant rates to the government."