Remarks as Delivered by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
10th Annual National Whistleblower Appreciation Day
Thursday, July 27, 2023
It’s an honor to be here with all you patriotic people that want government to do just what government is supposed to do and to spend the money accordingly.
We’re here to recognize the contributions and sacrifices that whistleblowers make every day for our country, the country you love.
I’ve said this many times before, you’ve heard me say it: Whistleblowers get treated like skunks at a picnic by their agency. That doesn’t happen all the time, but it happens too much – in other words, it irritates me.
It shouldn’t be that you’re treated like that animal.
To me and all of you here, we all know that whistleblowers are patriots.
This year’s special because it’s the 10th anniversary of National Whistleblower Appreciation Day.
And I’m proud to introduce the National Whistleblower Appreciation Day resolution for the 10th year in a row, along with Senator Wyden, co-chair of the caucus with me. And, of course, the entire Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus is on this introduction.
As early as the Revolutionary War – and I’d like to go into that story in depth, but I’m not going to – the first whistleblowers reported fraud and misconduct.
And they did it because the government passed legislation in the Continental Congress – as you remember, that was the congress before we even had a constitution.
So, the Founding Fathers knew that people out there every day working in the business of government might know that something’s wrong that the people at the head of the government don’t know.
Consequently, as we learned way back then, and still today, whistleblowers are critical to good government, or just what government is supposed to be doing. That’s enforcing the laws, or as the president takes the oath to faithfully execute the laws.
Whistleblowers risk their jobs, their livelihoods and reputations when they blow the whistle on government waste, fraud and abuse.
Recently, VA whistleblowers approached my office and alerted me of the agency’s failure to secure veterans’ sensitive, private information. They also exposed how the failure in security allows for staff to learn the identities of whistleblowers, leaving them vulnerable to retaliation.
The Drug Enforcement Administration whistleblowers also have provided important details about alleged contract irregularities and the DEA’s failure to root out corruption in its foreign operations. The oversight that flows from this kind of crucial information can help clean house at that agency and save the taxpayer money. It can also improve international drug interdiction, and in the process, save American lives.
Let’s also not forget about the IRS whistleblowers who’ve recently testified before Congress regarding wrongdoing at the IRS and the Justice Department.
And as many of you know, I’ve had my fair share of Justice Department whistleblowers over the years. Most recently, my public oversight activities regarding the Justice Department and FBI shows that more have come my way.
And I say, God bless them all.
The information that I’ve made public, whether it’s the VA, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Justice or the IRS, it’s only because of whistleblowers that I’ve been able to do work for – and help them carry out what they think the government is doing wrong and make that alerted and get it corrected.
The government hides information that the American people ought to know about.
Simply put, that’s wrong and we must ensure that all whistleblowers are fully protected from retaliation and championed for their work.
Accordingly, it’s critically important that all federal agencies promote openness and transparency. Transparency brings accountability, and the public’s business ought to be public.
They must also ensure federal employees know their rights to blow the whistle on wrongdoing, even including blowing that whistle to the Congress of the United States.
Federal agencies must protect their employees from retaliation and take appropriate corrective actions against those who retaliate against whistleblowers.
For me, there’s no middle ground when it comes to whistleblowers. They must be protected and fought for. Full stop.
This year, I introduced the Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Reform Act to expand protections for whistleblowers and ensure that SEC whistleblower awards are made in a timely manner.
This bill ensures that these whistleblowers would be fully protected if they report wrongdoing to a supervisor.
Since we created the SEC Whistleblower Program in 2010, it has been a massive success. The SEC reported receiving a record number of whistleblower tips in 2022.
Over 12,000.
This year, I also introduced the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act.
And this week, I’ve introduced the False Claims Amendments Act and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Fund Improvement Act.
There’s still a lot of work to be done.
In April, I wrote to President Biden requesting him to honor whistleblowers by hosting a Rose Garden ceremony on Whistleblower Appreciation Day.
I’ve asked every president since President Reagan to hold a Rose Garden ceremony to honor whistleblowers. No president has done so.
The task of supporting whistleblowers doesn’t start or stop on Whistleblower Appreciation Day. It’s a year-round job.
Whistleblowers are brave men and women – all of you in this room. I assume you’re all here because somehow you’ve been involved in blowing the whistle. And probably a lot of you have suffered consequences I’ve talked about, and so I apologize that the government would do that to you just because you’re reporting what needs to be reported.
Whistleblowers, as I’ve said a third time, you’re patriots.
Together, one day we’re going to have a Rose Garden ceremony for people like you.
The purpose of that is pretty simple: I want everybody in government to know that when a president does that, from the highest level of government to every place in the bowels of the bureaucracy, you know you’re doing the right thing.
Let’s just hope that happens.
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