WASHINGTON, D.C. | April 30, 2021 — Today, a group of whistleblower advocates led by the National Whistleblower Center (NWC) wrote to Congress urging them to support two legislative initiatives that would greatly benefit whistleblowers and strengthen whistleblower laws: the inclusion of Dodd-Frank Act style whistleblower protections in the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Act of 2020 and passage of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Fund Management Act.
NWC Interim Executive Director, Mary Jane Wilmoth, said: “These critical initiatives will improve upon the whistleblower protections and reward structures contained in the AML Act of 2020 and at the CFTC. Congress has reaffirmed its commitment to whistleblowers time and time again, and we, alongside a coalition of whistleblower advocates, call on them to do so again.”
The first letter requests that the AML Act be strengthened in conformance with the existing Dodd-Frank Act model to ensure that the government derives the maximum benefit from these laws, while ensuring whistleblowers are not confused or disadvantaged by disparate rules for the reporting, protections, and rewards for the same types of crimes. This letter was sent to the House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
The second letter details the urgent need for the passage of the CFTC Fund Management Act, as the current CFTC Fund from which whistleblowers are awarded is being severely depleted. This Act would increase the limit on funds that can be deposited into the CFTC Fund, allowing the CFTC to effectively and efficiently direct proceeds of sanctions derived from enforcement actions to whistleblowers as intended by Congress. This letter was sent to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
The whistleblower advocates include the National Whistleblower Center, the National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund, Transparency International, Public Citizen, Government Accountability Project, Project On Government Oversight, Whistleblowers of America, and ACORN 8.
For more information, please contact Nick Younger at nick.younger@whistleblowers.org.
