Since the founding days of this country, America has recognized the power that whistleblowers hold in the fight against fraud, waste, and abuse. The U.S. boasts some of the strongest whistleblower protections in the world, which is why so many international whistleblowers flock to our system for protection and compensation. But our job is far from over. In order to fully protect whistleblowers, we must strengthen whistleblower laws, close existing loopholes in whistleblower legislation, ensure Congressionally mandated awards are being paid out in a timely manner, and create new whistleblower protections for burgeoning sectors, such as Artificial Intelligence.
National Whistleblower Center has laid out Seven Major Campaigns for 2025, each of which are essential to safeguarding whistleblowers across America’s workforce. This year, we are leveraging the power of our grassroots supporter base to enact necessary changes in our whistleblower legislative framework. Please consider taking action on these campaigns, contacting your Representatives and Senators, and bolstering your advocacy by donating to NWC to support our advocacy.
Take Action On Our Seven Campaigns!
(1) Fully Implement the AML and Sanctions Whistleblower Program.
(2) Strengthen the False Claims Act and Protect its qui tam provision from attack.
Secondly, we must protect the qui tam provision from judicial attack. For over 160 years, the Constitutionality of the provision has been upheld by courts across the country. Recently, a District Court in Florida ruled the provision to be in violation of the Appointments Clause in the Constitution. We must urge our Representatives and Senators to take a stand for the FCA and the Constitutionality of America’s most effective anti-corruption tool.
(3) Demand Protections for Artificial Intelligence Whistleblowers.
Now, having grown unfettered by meaningful regulation, social media companies flaunt massive financial backing and lobbying power in Washington. Meta, for example, employs 66 lobbyists — one for every eight members of Congress, making it nearly impossible to regulate the industry. We cannot make the same mistake with Artificial Intelligence whistleblowers. The burgeoning sector holds unmatched implications for Americans’ privacy and data security.
As AI companies compete and race to develop the next big product or groundbreaking technology, financial gain is pursued over the safety of the products released and unleashed on the public, superseding respect for Americans’ rights. We have already done a severe injustice for AI Whistleblowers who have spoken out against abuse of power and opaque business practices. The clock is ticking for Congress to create an AI Whistleblower Protection law. Demand that your Representatives and Senators work together to create bipartisan protections for AI Whistleblowers in the 118th Congress.
(4) Stop Repeal by Delay.
In addition, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Whistleblower Office has suffered from a long-standing funding crisis which has delayed the payment of large whistleblower awards, leaving whistleblowers who are owed their awards out to dry for years. Stopgap solutions have been passed in 2021 and again in December of 2024, but these midnight hour solutions are not sustainable. The current band-aid solution is set to expire, once again, in March of 2025. Demand that Congress pass the CFTC Fund Improvement Act 2500, a permanent funding solution to the ongoing crisis.
(5) Close the Major Loophole in Airline Safety Whistleblower Law.
The Aviation Investment and Reform Act is copy-and-pasted in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), meaning this loophole has permeated through major whistleblower laws, causing enduring hardship for whistleblowers across sectors. We demand that this oversight is redressed through a technical amendment in during the 118th Congress to put an end to this loophole.
(6) Protect Federal Whistleblowers.
We must allow federal whistleblowers to pursue their claims in federal court when they are faced with administrative inaction. We urge for the passage of the Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act to ensure that federal whistleblowers can exercise their rights in federal court.
TAKE ACTION
(7) Make National Whistleblower Day Permanent.
TAKE ACTION
Support our Legislative Advocacy in 2025!
NWC is a grassroots organization that relies on the generosity of our supporters for all of our work. We need your help to continue this fight. Bolster your action and support our legislative advocacy by making a fully tax-deductible donation to NWC today!