[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 10, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H2782]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             WHISTLEBLOWERS

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, why does the media seem to like some 
whistleblowers and dislike others? I will mention three names, three of 
the most famous whistleblowers from recent history.
  In 1974, Karen Silkwood blew the whistle on the Cimarron Nuclear 
Facility in Oklahoma, claiming unsafe practices. Karen Silkwood died in 
a car accident that November while on her way to meet with a New York 
Times reporter. They say her death was not an accident and that 
documents she had in the car with her disappeared from the scene of the 
crash.
  In 1995, Dr. Jeffrey Wigand broke with a big tobacco company to 
criticize that industry's practices. In a famous episode, his interview 
with 60 Minutes was taken off the air because of pressure from tobacco 
company lawyers.
  Karen Silkwood and Jeffrey Wigand have both been lionized by 
Hollywood in movies starring Meryl Streep and Russell Crowe. Both names 
are synonymous in the media with persons who have been punished for 
telling the truth.
  How about the third whistleblower? Linda Tripp blew the whistle on 
the most powerful person in America. She told the truth, a truth we 
might never have known had she not spoken up. And, yet, instead of a 
movie contract, Ms. Tripp faces the possibility of being the only 
player in the scandal to be convicted of a crime.
  How is that for American justice?

                          ____________________