In the letter, which has been posted by POLITICO’s Morning Defense , Sens. McCain and Levin asked Panetta “to provide us with a copy of the report and advise us of the actions that have been taken and will be taken to address the problems identified in the report—including steps to re-open any reprisal cases that were inadequately investigated or erroneously dismissed.”

Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Carl Levin (D-MI), the Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, have sent a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta calling the Pentagon’s failure to protect military whistleblowers from reprisal “a matter of grave concern.” The letter comes on the heels of a Pentagon Inspector General internal assessment (obtained by POGO) revealing that its own investigators mishandled more than half of a set of whistleblower reprisal cases.

Earlier this week we learned how the Pentagon watchdog had let military whistleblowers down--now, Senate heavyweights are asking the Department of Defense (DoD) to get its act together.

The letter echoes the one sent by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) on April 24, 2012 to the Department of Defense’s acting IG, where Sen. Grassley emphatically stated that “the root cause problems identified in this report must be addressed and resolved immediately.”

We commend McCain and Levin for speaking out on this important issue and echoing our call to reopen reprisal cases upon complainants’ request. We also would like to reaffirm our ask that the Pentagon Inspector General contact other complainants whose cases were closed in FY 2010 but not covered in the assessment, and offer to have a review team examine whether their cases were adequately addressed.

While the recent oversight is surely needed, Congress also needs to fix the law. Military whistleblowers have among the weakest of the weak laws that protect federal workers who come forward with wrongdoing. Our armed service whistleblowers need guaranteed independent investigations of reprisals, real due process rights, judicial review, and meaningful remedies for retaliation.

There was a provision (Section 531 of H.R. 1540) to upgrade protections for military whistleblowers that was voted into BOTH the House and the Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012, but it was inexplicably stripped when the bills were reconciled. It would have enhanced the administrative and judicial review of cases where military personnel seek justice for retaliation for lawful and protected communications of wrongdoing. This should be enacted this year, but Congress should specify that the judicial review should be available after 270 days. Otherwise, a whistleblower might be caught up in an interminable administrative process.

This would be one of several much-needed improvements to the law. Congress and DoD should give our military whistleblowers the rights and respect they deserve.

Angela Canterbury is POGO’s director of public policy. Dana Liebelson is POGO’s Beth Daley Impact Fellow.

Image via Medill DC.