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.
During his speech at the National Whistleblower Day celebration on Capitol Hill, Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger reiterated his call for a permanent National Whistleblower Day.
“I urge both houses of Congress to permanently pass legislation recognizing Whistleblower Appreciation Day forevermore,” Dellinger stated to loud applause.
Dellinger first announced that he is pushing for the permanent recognition of National Whistleblower Day on June 20, sending a letter to Congress calling on legislation on the matter. Each year since 2013, the Senate has unanimously passed a resolution designating July 30 as National Whistleblower Appreciation Day but whistleblowers and advocates have been pushing for a permanent designation.
During his speech, Dellinger also praised the advocacy on behalf of whistleblowers of Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). Dellinger also gave special thanks to all the whistleblowers both in attendance and elsewhere, noting that “without whistleblowers there could not be any Whistleblower Appreciation Day and to me you are whistle-heros.”
Since he was confirmed as the head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) in February, Dellinger has been a vocal supporter of National Whistleblower Day and the event to celebrate whistleblowers.
In a statement released for National Whistleblower Day, he said “I would also like to thank Steve Kohn and the team at the National Whistleblower Center for their tireless efforts to encourage NWAD participation and for organizing events to recognize the contributions of whistleblowers.”
A group of whistleblowers are leading a grassroots campaign calling for a permanent National Whistleblower Day. To support the campaign, the whistleblowers have launched a GoFundMe. They also encourage whistleblower supporters to join the campaign by signing the petition and amplifying the campaign’s message on social media.