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Archives for September 2012

09/10/2012

New York Times: Inquiry Starts at FAA Over Remark on Budget

Read the full story here. The New York Times

“In the e-mails, obtained by the watchdog group Cause of Action, an F.A.A. employee in Seattle gives an account of Mr. Hickey’s remarks at the May 23 session. (The names on the e-mails are blacked out; the contents are reprinted here with typographical errors intact.) Cause of Action has asked for the F.A.A.’s inspector general to investigate.

“I would not be able to quote Mr. Hickey exact words, but what I took out of it was, if the conservative republication gain control of congress then the FAA could be looking at as much as a 15% cut in budget and we may be looking at furloughs,” one e-mail said. “If the liberal Democrats take control of congress then we would be looking at a flat budget. In short if the Republicans win office our jobs may be effected (furloughs) if the Democrats win office then our jobs would not be effected….”

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09/6/2012

VIDEO: Fox News – FAA employees pressured to vote for Obama?

Fox News reports on Cause of Action’s finding of a possible Hatch Act violation at the Federal Aviation Administration.

 

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09/5/2012

FAA Hatch Act Investigation Exhibits

 

Cause of Action released documents today revealing a potential Hatch Act violation at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) involving John J. Hickey, deputy associate administrator for aviation safety at the FAA, and Raymond Towles, deputy director of flight standards field operations. At a May 23, 2012 staff meeting, Hickey told subordinates that “if the Republicans win office [their] jobs may be effected [sic]…if the Democrats win office then [their] jobs would not be effected [sic].” Additionally, Hickey and Towles held mandatory meetings with employees at other regional FAA offices, where similar comments may have been repeated.
 
In light of these allegations, Cause of Action sent a request for investigation to Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Transportation Calvin L. Scovel III, urging “a swift investigation, not only into whether the comments made by Mr. Hickey and Mr. Towles at the Seattle FSDO violated the Hatch Act, but also whether their comments violated any other federal laws, as well as if they engaged in any other activities in violation of the Hatch Act or other applicable law.”

 

The documents related to this investigation:

Exhibit 1 (2)

Exhibit 2 2_Redacted

Exhibit 3 1_Redacted

 

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09/5/2012

AP: Group: FAA bosses urged workers to vote Democrat

Group: FAA bosses urged workers to vote Democrat

 

By: Manuel Valdes, Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — A government transparency group is urging an investigation into Federal Aviation Administration managers who allegedly urged workers in Seattle to vote Democrat in the upcoming elections.

The Washington, D.C.-based group Cause of Action sent a letter Wednesday to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s inspector general saying that in May at a mandatory staff meeting in Seattle, two senior FAA managers told employees that if Republicans win the presidential and congressional elections, the agency would face budget cuts. They allegedly said that if Democrats win, their budget would remain largely unchanged.

One of the managers is alleged to have said that “Republican politicians wished to cut the budget of the FAA, while Democratic politicians intended to keep the FAA budget at the same or similar levels as in recent years. Any cuts in the FAA budget would lead to furloughs, job losses, and pay reductions among FAA employees,” the Cause of Action complaint said.

Employees at the meeting complained that the statements felt like a threat.

Cause of Action argues that the managers violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits certain federal employees from engaging in partisan politics at the workplace.

A FAA comment was not immediately available.

“These career employees were led to believe their jobs were at risk if their political support did not line up with the agenda of the Administration,” said Daniel Epstein, executive director of the group.

Cause of Action describes itself as an “organization that uses public advocacy and legal reform strategies to ensure greater transparency in government and protect taxpayer interests and economic freedom.”

 

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09/5/2012

Cause of Action Exposes Potential Hatch Act Violation at the FAA

   Cause of Action Exposes Potential Hatch Act Violation at the FAA

 Subordinates told “how to vote if they wanted to keep their job”

WASHINGTON – Cause of Action (CoA) released documents today revealing a potential Hatch Act violation at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) involving John J. Hickey, deputy associate administrator for aviation safety at the FAA, and Raymond Towles, deputy director of flight standards field operations. At a May 23, 2012 staff meeting, Hickey told subordinates that “if the Republicans win office [their] jobs may be effected [sic]…if the Democrats win office then [their] jobs would not be effected [sic].” Additionally, Hickey and Towles held mandatory meetings with employees at other regional FAA offices, where similar comments may have been repeated.

 

Whistleblowers came forward after the May 23 meeting at the Seattle Flight Standards Division Office (Seattle FSDO), alerting a Deputy Regional Counsel in the FAA’s Northwest Mountain Region Office who is now conducting an investigation into both Hickey and Towles for telling employees “how to vote if they wanted to keep their job,” sources tell Cause of Action.

 

In light of these allegations, Cause of Action sent a request for investigation to Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Transportation Calvin L. Scovel III, urging “a swift investigation, not only into whether the comments made by Mr. Hickey and Mr. Towles at the Seattle FSDO violated the Hatch Act, but also whether their comments violated any other federal laws, as well as if they engaged in any other activities in violation of the Hatch Act or other applicable law.”

 

“The egregious abuse of power for political gain is exactly what Cause of Action aims to expose,” said Dan Epstein, executive director of Cause of Action. “These career employees were led to believe their jobs were at risk if their political support did not line up with the agenda of the Administration. The Hatch Act is designed to prevent such politicization and we are demanding that IG Scovel investigate any potential violations of federal law and make appropriate referrals to the Justice Department.”

 

The Hatch Act prohibits Executive agency employees from engaging in political activity intended to affect the result of an election.  As CoA’s letter to IG Scovel explains, “Previously, the Office of Special Counsel has indicated that such a standard also prohibits covered Executive agency officials from suggesting to subordinate employees that they undertake any partisan political activity.  Mr. Hickey and Mr. Towles’s alleged statements to FAA employees, in their roles as senior FAA management, amounts to illegal political activity under the Hatch Act.”

 

At the time of this release, CoA has not received a response from the OIG concerning the request for investigation.   According to sources familiar with the matter, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has begun an investigation.

 

The letter to DOT OIG can be found here.

Internal emails from the FAA can be found here.

 

About Cause of Action:

Cause of Action is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that uses investigative, legal, and communications tools to educate the public on how government accountability and transparency protects taxpayer interests and economic opportunity. For more information, visit www.causeofaction.org.

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