On July 30, 2015, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon was a keynote speaker at the first Congressional celebration of National Whistleblower Day. The event, hosted by the National Whistleblower Center, marked the commemoration of July 30th as National Whistleblower Day and recognized the passage of the first ever whistleblower law that date in 1778, as well as the crucial role whistleblowers play today in defending our nation from waste, fraud and abuse.
Senator Wyden assured the crowd that the newly created Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus “truly appreciates whistleblowers and what you do to make our country a better place. You have a solemn pledge from all of us democrats and republicans that are a part of the Whistleblower Caucus. We want you to know that we are going to stay at it until everybody in America can feel comfortable to come forward and say ‘This is wrong, I need to say something and for the first time people in government will have my back when I do it.’”
Watch Senator Wyden’s entire speech.
The Senate also passed a non-binding resolution for the third consecutive year marking this date National Whistleblower Appreciation Day on July 30th. However, more needs to be done.
Congress needs to pass legislation that would require the heads of each federal agency use National Whistleblower Day as an opportunity to set the ‘tone at the top,’ calling public attention to the contributions whistleblowers have made to American democracy and their own agencies. The legislation needs to have all federal agencies highlight the role whistleblowers have played in their agencies to combat waste, fraud, and abuse and enforce the laws of the land.
- Take Action: Tell the President and Congress to Establish A Permanent Day to Recognize the Contributions of Whistleblowers.
- Learn more about the National Whistleblower Day Campaign.