• AML
  • Qui Tam
  • SEC
  • CFTC
  • FCPA
  • FAQS
Subscribe
Donate
No Result
View All Result
Whistleblower Network News
The Truth at Any Cost.
Qui Tam, Compliance and Anti-Corruption News.
Whistleblower Network News
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Opinion: It’s Time for Congress to Strengthen Protections for Whistleblowers Who Expose Corporate Fraud

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of the Whistleblower Network News.

October 7, 2020
in Legislation, Opinion, Whistleblower Poll
Reading Time: 4 mins read
Corporate fraud whistleblower
Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInEmail

A Marist poll released yesterday shows that the American public considers corporate fraud a national priority and wants to help whistleblowers who expose it. When asked if passing stronger laws that protect employees who report corporate fraud should be a priority for Congress, 81 percent of likely voters agreed, with 27 percent stating that it should be an immediate priority.

This poll, conducted on behalf of the Whistleblower Network News, should provide Congress with all the encouragement it needs to act on pending whistleblower bills addressing private sector corruption, such as those dealing with securities and commodities fraud, money laundering, and the trade in endangered wildlife and illegal timber and seafood.

This year will be remembered for its global public health and economic crises, with the deadly Covid-19 coronavirus spreading around the world, megafires burning large portions of Australia and the western U.S., and heatwaves melting permafrost in the Siberian Arctic. In the U.S., positive federal action on climate change remained elusive, but agreement on massive government spending to address Covid-19 was reached in Congress early in the year. Unfortunately, the rapid pace and volume of federal spending created new opportunities for misconduct, and these opportunities were seized by certain corporate actors with special access to the executive branch. Here are just two examples:

Register for National Whistleblower Day
  • In May 2020, the New York Times found that some of the nation’s largest companies had received Paycheck Protection Program funds that Congress had intended for small businesses struggling due to Covid-19. Many of these companies were simultaneously approving multi-million-dollar pay packages for top executives. Amanda Ballantyne, leader of Main Street Alliance, an advocacy group for small businesses, succinctly described this abuse of power as “outrageous.”
  • A report issued last week by Friends of the Earth, Public Citizen, and Bailout Watch reveals that many fossil fuel companies, grappling with a decade of losses, have found a new lifeline with a federal Covid-19 relief program called the Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility. Although this program was intended for viable companies and not those on the brink of insolvency, these failing fossil fuel companies are now securing billions in debt financing, insulating themselves from market forces, and slowing the transition to a clean energy economy.

Whistleblowers are already playing an essential role in exposing this kind of misconduct, but more could be done with stronger policy. In our July 2020 report, Exposing a Ticking Time Bomb, the National Whistleblower Center identified a variety of policy improvements needed to ensure that regulators and prosecutors work in partnership with whistleblowers to address the high risk of fraud in the fossil fuel industry.

Building a comprehensive legal framework for regulators, prosecutors, and whistleblowers to collaborate around corruption-fighting will take years, but fortunately, there are opportunities in the very near term to make meaningful progress toward that goal. In the U.S., there is still time in the current Congressional session to strengthen the Dodd-Frank Act, the law that protects and rewards whistleblowers who expose and help prosecute securities and commodities fraud.  

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as Digital Realty mistakenly interpreted Dodd-Frank as offering no protection to “internal whistleblowers,” i.e., those who report frauds to the SEC after first attempting to resolve the problem within their companies. Fortunately, the House of Representatives passed a bill to reverse this ruling last year, and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is leading efforts in the Senate to pass a companion bill this year. Known as the Whistleblower Programs Improvement Act (S. 2529), this bill would restore protection to internal whistleblowers and also expedite rewards to those whistleblowers who help bring about successful prosecutions. The National Whistleblower Center calls on its supporters to contact their Senators and urge them to pass this critical whistleblower bill during the final months of this Congressional session.

Tags: Marist PollWhistleblower LegislationWhistleblower Protection
Previous Post

Top Whistleblower Lawyer Explains Results Of New Whistleblower Poll In The National Law Review

Next Post

Moldova’s Ombudsman Fights for the Rights of COVID Whistleblowers

Next Post
Moldova’s Ombudsman Fights for the Rights of COVID Whistleblowers

Moldova’s Ombudsman Fights for the Rights of COVID Whistleblowers

Please login to join discussion

Receive Daily Alerts

Subscribe to receive daily breaking news and legislative developments sent to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Most Popular

Advocates Detail Need for SEC Whistleblower Reform

Raytheon Whistleblower Receives $1.5 Million for Alleging Cybersecurity Non-Compliance

Ruling Striking Down Trump Order Targeting Law Firm Seen as Crucial for Whistleblowers

MJH Healthcare Settles Whistleblower Allegations of Postal Rate Fraud for $2 Million

Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Stronger Whistleblower Laws in Australia, Mirroring Polling in US

Four Whistleblowers Receive $1.3 Million for Alleging Genetic Testing Fraud Scheme

Whistleblower Poll

Whistleblower Poll
Whistleblower Poll

Exclusive Marist Poll: Overwhelming Public Support Among Likely Voters For Increased Whistleblower Protections

byGeoff Schweller
October 6, 2020

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

STAY INFORMED.
Subscribe to receive breaking whistleblower updates.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About Us

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Careers

Subscribe

  • Daily Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • YouTube Channel

Contribute

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Reprint Guidelines

Your Experience

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Help

  • Rules for Whistleblowers
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Advertise
Whistleblower Network News

Whistleblower Network News is an independent online newspaper providing our readers with up-to-date information on whistleblowing. Our goal is to be the best source of information on important qui tam, anti-corruption, compliance, and whistleblower law developments. 

Submit an Article

Copyright © 2025, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

This Newspaper/Web Site is made available by the publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this website, you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Newspaper/Web Site publisher. The Newspaper/Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.

Become a Whistleblower Network News Subscriber

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Subscribe to WNN

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Subscribe to WNN
RSVP to National Whistleblower Day 2025! July 30, 2025 on Capitol Hill
RSVP NOW

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • Exclusives
  • Government
    • False Claims-Qui Tam
    • Federal Employees
    • Intelligence
  • Corporate
    • CFTC & Commodities
    • Dodd-Frank
    • IRS & Tax
    • SEC & Securities
  • Features
  • Legislation
  • International
    • Foreign Corruption
  • Rewards
  • Whistleblower of the Week
  • Environment & Climate
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Employment
    • Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblowers
    • Retaliation
    • OSHA
  • Make National Whistleblower Day Permanent
  • Media
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • National Whistleblower Day
  • Whistleblower Poll
  • Whistleblower Resources
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Resources for Locating An Attorney
    • The New Whistleblowers Handbook

Copyright © 2024, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version