Washington, D.C. July 28, 2015. On July 30th, seven senators will come together for the first time to publicly celebrate our nation’s whistleblowers. The celebration, hosted by the National Whistleblower Center, is being held on “National Whistleblower Day” in commemoration of the Founding Fathers’ passing the first ever whistleblower law in 1778, as well as the crucial role whistleblowers play in defending our nation from waste, fraud and abuse. The two Keynote Speakers for the event are Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Wyden of Oregon, who serve as the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus. Joining them to speak are Senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Mark Kirk of Illinois, and Tom Carper of Delaware (TO BE CONFIRMED), also members of the Whistleblower Protection Caucus.
The passage of the first whistleblower law was traced back to a resolution signed unanimously by the Continental Congress in 1778. In this resolution, our Founding Fathers declared:
“That it is the duty of all persons in the service of the United States, as well as all other inhabitants thereof, to give the earliest information of wrongdoing to Congress or other proper authority of any misconduct, frauds or misdemeanors committed by any officers or persons in the service of these states, which may come to their knowledge.”
The Founding Fathers’ enactment of America’s first whistleblower law was forgotten over the years until recently unearthed by the research of National Whistleblower Center Executive Director and author Stephen M. Kohn. “The Founding Fathers got it right, their vote was unanimous and their vision bold. Their plea that all Americans should report ‘fraud’ and ‘misconduct’ to the ‘appropriate authority’ is as true today as it was when our revolutionary forefathers were fighting for their independence from a tyrannical king,” Kohn said.
The Senate is expected to pass a resolution again this year marking July 30th as National Whistleblower Appreciation Day.
For more information visit www.nationalwhistleblowerday.org.