Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA) will be speaking at the National Whistleblower Center’s (NWC) National Whistleblower Day 2021 event on July 30. The virtual event will be a celebration of whistleblowers featuring panels and speeches by policymakers, whistleblower experts, whistleblowers, and their advocates. NWC announced Representative Speier’s participation on June 17.
Speier is the co-chair of the House Whistleblower Protection Caucus and has advocated for whistleblowers throughout her time in Congress. In February, Speier introduced the COVID-19 Whistleblower Protection Act, which is designed to protect whistleblowers who disclose fraud and misuse of government funds issued as relief for the COVID-19 pandemic. Speier also sponsored multiple resolutions to permanently designate July 30 as National Whistleblower Day.
“We are so excited to have Representative Speier speak at the event celebrating whistleblowers and their accomplishments with us,” said NWC Executive Director Siri Nelson. “Speier’s efforts to strengthen whistleblower protection laws and stand up for whistleblowers showcase the tenacity required to be a true whistleblower defender in Congress. I am thrilled she will be joining us for our largest National Whistleblower Day celebration to date.”
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the chairman of the Senate Whistleblower Caucus, will also be speaking at the event. Grassley is a longtime champion of whistleblowers and is considered the leading authority on whistleblower law in Congress. Grassley was behind the historic 1986 whistleblower amendments to the False Claims Act which rejuvenated the Civil War-era law into one of the nation’s most effective tools in fighting fraud. On June 23, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the CFTC Fund Management Act, a bill authored by Grassley to save the CFTC Whistleblower Program from financial collapse.
Other members of the Senate Whistleblower Caucus will speak at National Whistleblower Day, including Senators Ron Wyden (D-WI), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). Representatives Kathleen Rice (D-NY) of the House Whistleblower Protection Caucus and John Garamendi (D-CA) will also be featured in the celebration.
In addition to members of Congress, the National Whistleblower Day 2021 celebration will feature remarks by a number of government officials. Gary Gensler, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will be delivering keynote remarks. National Security Agency (NSA) Inspector General Robert Storch, Office of Special Counsel (OSC) Special Counsel Henry Kerner, and Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz will also be speaking.
Whistleblowers scheduled to speak at the celebration include Rebekah Jones (Florida Department of Health), Jane Turner (FBI), Kimberly Young-McLear (Coast Guard), Sara Thompson (Peace Corps), and Bradley Birkenfeld (UBS).
RSVP to National Whistleblower Day 2021 here and click here to watch the trailer for the event.
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Representative Jackie Speier Joins National Whistleblower Day 2021 – National Whistleblower Center