WASHINGTON, D.C. | July 6, 2021 — The National Whistleblower Center commends the bipartisan group of Representatives led by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) for introducing the Whistleblower Protection Improvement Act of 2021 (WPIA) in May, 2021. The critical reform bill would strengthen whistleblower protections for federal employees who expose wrongdoing, providing them greater legal recourses against retaliation including access to a jury trial.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform, chaired by Rep. Maloney, reported the WPIA out of committee on June 29, 2021. Now, the bill awaits a floor vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bipartisan group of Representatives co-sponsoring this bill includes Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Nancy Mace (R-TX), Jackie Speier (D-CA), and Kathleen Rice (D-NY). Representative Jackie Speier, Co-Chair of the House Whistleblower Protection Caucus, and Representative Kathleen Rice will both speak at the National Whistleblower Day 2021 celebration.
NWC Executive Director Siri Nelson said, “We cannot thank the bipartisan group of whistleblower advocates led by Representative Maloney enough for introducing this critically-needed whistleblower protection bill. No federal employee should face retaliation for speaking out against waste, fraud, and abuse. By providing federal whistleblowers with expanded legal avenues to stay protected and preventing other employees from interfering in a whistleblower’s disclosure, these Representatives have taken powerful steps towards making our government transparent, accountable, and pro-whistleblower.”
In the hearing, Rep. Maloney noted that the WPIA has received public support from a wide range of stakeholder organizations including Government Accountability Project (GAP), Project On Government Oversight (POGO), Taxpayers Protection Alliance, Whistleblowers of America, and National Taxpayers Union. In support of strengthening whistleblower protections across the government, NWC recently joined together with GAP, POGO, and Taxpayers Against Fraud in support of the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act of 2021, introduced in June, 2021 by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
For more information, please contact Nick Younger at nick.younger@whistleblowers.org.
