Whistleblower Appreciation Day

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today is the day of the whistleblower.

But every day should be the day of the whistleblower.

I have asked every President since Ronald Reagan to hold a Rose Garden ceremony to honor whistleblowers. No President has done so.

That is a shame because Presidents should view whistleblowers as making their job easier not more difficult. It is often the whistleblower who gives the unvarnished truth relating to government misconduct. And once that misconduct is known, it can be taken care of.

When fraud and waste are exposed, the executive branch should bend over backwards to eliminate it. Instead, the executive branch often stupidly attacks the whistleblowers for courageously putting themselves out there.

And for those in the FBI like Marcus Allen, retaliation is holding your security clearance hostage.

Let me give some other recent examples. Department of Homeland Security whistleblowers alerted me of this administration's failure to implement the DNA Fingerprint Act. This failure allowed migrants with criminal histories to enter the United States unchecked, putting our communities at risk. The Department of Homeland Security has violated Federal law. The Office of Special Counsel substantiated the allegations and the retaliation against the whistleblowers for their disclosures. On July 23 this year, I held an oversight roundtable to highlight the whistleblower disclosures and the resulting retaliation they have suffered.

Whistleblowers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives brought to light that the Agency wasted millions of taxpayer dollars. How so? The ATF illegally misclassified human resource positions as law enforcement and paid these employees enhanced benefits they weren't entitled to.

Whistleblowers also provided my office with records revealing the Department of Health and Human Services failed to vet sponsors for unaccompanied alien children. They provided detail never before known to the public. On July 9 this year, I held an oversight roundtable with some of these whistleblowers, giving them a public voice to share their stories for the benefit of these kids. Agencies just don't like being exposed, apparently even if the lives of children are on the line. We have to change that culture.

Whistleblowers recently provided me with internal FBI documents of State Department incompetence and obstruction. Specifically, documents show the State Department actively interfered with FBI operations. For example, the State Department prevented the FBI from arresting known terrorists, members of Iranian proliferation networks, and other criminals providing material support for Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The Department did this because it didn't want the FBI's arrest of the Iranians to upset the pending Iran Nuclear Deal. I made these FBI documents public on May 21, 2024, to prove the facts of the matter.

And most recently, I have made records and video public relating to the Trump assassination attempt. I obtained those records from local law enforcement officers, not the Federal Government. The information that I have made public is usually because of whistleblowers.

The government rarely provides information to Congress upon request. Simply put, that is a slap in the face to not just Congress but the American people. Accordingly, it is critically important that all Federal Agencies promote openness and transparency. They must also ensure Federal employees know their rights to blow the whistle on wrongdoing, including to Congress.

That is why I have fought hard to ensure Federal Agencies include the anti-gag provision as required by law. That provision is a notice to employees of their rights to disclose waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct to Congress, an inspector general, and the Office of Special Counsel.

For example, the ATF failed to include this notification in guidance sent to their employees. I demanded they issue updated guidance, which they subsequently did. Further, in March of this year, I wrote to all 74 inspectors general requesting they conduct a review of their Agency's nondisclosure policy, forms, and similar agreements to ensure it includes the anti-gag provision as required by law.

The task of supporting whistleblowers doesn't start and stop on Whistleblower Appreciation Day. It is a full time, year-round job. Last year, I talked about the legislation I have introduced this Congress to do just that, from the Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Reform Act to the False Claims Amendment Act to the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act and others.

Whistleblowers are brave men and women who perform an invaluable public service. Whistleblowers must be protected; they are patriots. Dating back to the Revolutionary War, the first whistleblowers reported fraud and misconduct. Our Founding Fathers knew the importance of rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.

As I stand here today in July 2024--a long way's away from the Revolutionary War--the same sentiment remains. I am proud to have introduced the National Whistleblower Appreciation Day resolution for the 11th year in a row on behalf of the entire Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus.

And I will tell you this again:

One day, all of us together, we are going to get that Rose Garden ceremony.

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