July 30 was National Whistleblower Day and whistleblowers, advocates and government officials gathered on Capitol Hill to celebrate. The National Whistleblower Day event is available to rewatch on C-SPAN, but National Whistleblower Center is also rolling out videos of keynote speeches on its YouTube channel.
In a show of bipartisan support for whistleblowers, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) each gave remarks at the National Whistleblower Day 2024 celebration on Capitol Hill.
Grassley and Wyden are two of whistleblowers’ leading champions in Congress. They are co-founders and co-chairs of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus and have sponsored a number of critical whistleblower laws.
“Whistleblowers are brave men and women who perform an invaluable public service,” said Senator Grassley. “The task of supporting whistleblowers doesn’t start and stop with this very day, every year, that we honor whistleblowers. It’s a full time, year-round job.”
In his speech, Grassley highlighted different examples of how whistleblowers have provided his office with information to help increase transparency and accountability within the federal government. He also touched on a number of bills he has introduced pending in Congress, including the Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Reform Act, the False Claims Amendment Act and the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act.
“As long as I’m in public service, I want you to know that at the top of my list is going to be giving whistleblowers the tools to protect the American people,” said Senator Wyden.
Wyden went on to speak about how whistleblowers have been critical to the oversight efforts of the Senate Finance Committee. One example cited by Wyden is an investigation into Credit Suisse’s ’s role in an ongoing, potentially criminal tax conspiracy involving $100 million in undeclared offshore accounts. “Make no mistake, without the whistleblower taking on the odds and speaking out, tax scofflaws at Credit Suisse could still be hiding out today,” Wyden stated.
“Whistleblowers make a difference. And let’s make sure the public knows it,” Wyden emphatically added.
As co-chairs of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus, Senators Grassley and Wyden introduced the Senate Resolution which officially designated July 30, 2024 as National Whistleblower Appreciation Day.
