The 118^th Congress will end on January 3, 2025. Thus, there is one year remaining for Congress and the current-sitting executive officers to act on a number of pending whistleblower initiatives, all of which have strong bipartisan support, are based on the plain meaning of laws already passed by Congress, and which are individually or collectively essential for the implementation of the U.S. Anti-Corruption Strategy. Outside of political interference by those who stand to lose when whistleblowers are incentivized and protected, there is no legitimate reason why these reforms cannot be quickly approved. The actions listed below are needed for the Strategy to be implemented, but whose approval has been stalled or blocked by resistant executive agencies or a timid Congress:

Have and Impact in Seven Easy Steps!

In 2021 the White House, in conjunction with every major executive agency, approved The United States Strategy on Countering Corruption. In this authoritative and non-partisan Anti-Corruption Strategy, the United States for the first time formally recognized the key role whistleblowers play in detecting fraud and corruption. Based on these findings it declared that it was the official policy of the United States to “stand in solidarity” with whistleblowers, both domestically and internationally. As part of the Anti-Corruption Strategy the United States recognized that whistleblower qui tam reward laws must play a major role in combating financial frauds, such as money laundering. The proven ability of whistleblowers to detect fraud among corporate and government elites led the United States government to formally identify them as key players in preventing fraud, strengthening democratic institutions, and combating corruption that threatens U.S. national security.

Despite these findings, leading federal agencies responsible for enforcing whistleblower rights have failed to implement the U.S. Anti-Corruption Strategy’s whistleblower-mandates. Many of their current rules and practices directly undercut and undermine the very whistleblower rights identified by the White House Strategy as playing an essential role in combating corruption. NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT!