WASHINGTON, D.C. | December 7, 2020 — Today, the National Whistleblower Center wrote to members of Congress requesting that key changes be made to the whistleblower protection provision included in the money laundering title of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 (NDAA), H.R. 6395. The whistleblower provision, Section 6314 of the NDAA, would, if adopted, break with long-standing precedent in U.S. whistleblower law and inhibit U.S. law enforcements’ efforts against money laundering and terrorist financing. The bill is likely to be voted on by the House and Senate this week.
John Kostyack, Executive Director of the National Whistleblower Center, said: “We thank bill sponsors for acknowledging the critical role of whistleblowers in exposing criminals’ and terrorists’ attempts to avoid paying taxes and hide their wrongdoing. However, by removing mandatory rewards and excluding employees at FDIC insured institutions and credit unions from anti-retaliation provisions, the NDAA would remove whistleblowers’ incentives to report money laundering and terrorist financing. Congress must empower, not undercut, the brave whistleblowers who step forward to assist U.S. law enforcement authorities.”
Stephen M. Kohn, Board Chair of the National Whistleblower Center said: “If adopted, these loopholes would run counter to Congress’s bipartisan support for whistleblowers. The long track record of successful U.S. whistleblower laws teaches us that we need mandatory rewards, and we need to protect all whistleblowers. Simple fixes to the bill’s language would put the whistleblower protection provision included on the right track, incentivizing whistleblowers to report illegal money laundering and terrorist financing as Congress intended.”
Before Congress approves the NDAA conference report, it is incumbent upon members to rectify these problems. Congress must support the law enforcement agencies that depend on whistleblowers to fight money laundering and terrorist financing.
For more information, please contact Nick Younger at nick.younger@whistleblowers.org.
