Neil Gordon – POGO – “Last week, the Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and NASA issued a final rule that will deny taxpayer funds to businesses that force employees to sign away their rights to blow the whistle on possible fraud, waste, and public health and safety dangers. The rule implements section 743 of the 2015 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, which prohibits agencies from awarding contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements to entities that require employees or subcontractors to sign a confidentiality agreement  that restricts their ability to report waste, fraud, or abuse to federal investigative or law enforcement authorities. It also requires contractors to notify employees that any such pre-existing agreements are no longer in effect…”