A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that Members of Congress and their staffs, employees of the Executive Office of the President and executive branch agencies, and the President of the United States have a duty to protect the identities of whistleblowers and safeguard whistleblowers from retaliation.

III 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 408 Expressing the sense of the Senate that Members of Congress and their staffs, employees of the Executive Office of the President and executive branch agencies, and the President of the United States have a duty to protect the identities of whistleblowers and safeguard whistleblowers from retaliation. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 6, 2019 Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. VAN HOL- LEN, Mr. CASEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BROWN, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. KING, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. HARRIS, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and Mr. MENENDEZ) sub- mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Senate that Members of Con- gress and their staffs, employees of the Executive Office of the President and executive branch agencies, and the President of the United States have a duty to protect the identities of whistleblowers and safeguard whistle- blowers from retaliation. Whereas the United States has historically acknowledged a duty of individuals who serve the United States to report misconduct, fraud, and violations of law, as demonstrated by the first whistleblower legislation in the United States, which was passed unanimously by the Continental Con- VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR408.IS SR408 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •SRES 408 IS gress on July 30, 1778, and read, ‘‘Resolved, That it is the duty of all persons in the service of the United States, as well as all other the inhabitants thereof, to give the earliest information to Congress or other proper au- thority of any misconduct, frauds or misdemeanors com- mitted by any officers or persons in the service of these states, which may come to their knowledge’’ (legislation of July 30, 1778, reprinted in Journals of the Conti- nental Congress, 1774–1789, ed. Worthington C. Ford et al. (Washington, DC, 1904–37), 11:732); Whereas the duty to report misconduct, fraud, and violations of law remains, irrespective of the motives of a whistle- blower, and, therefore, impugning the motives of whistle- blowers has no relevance to the public interest in expos- ing and correcting improper or illegal conduct; Whereas, for each of the past 7 years, including most re- cently in Senate Resolution 194, 116th Congress, agreed to July 23, 2019, the Senate has recognized that ‘‘whis- tleblowers risk their careers, jobs, and reputations by re- porting waste, fraud, and abuse to the proper authori- ties’’ and ‘‘serve the public interest by ensuring that the United States remains an ethical and safe place’’; Whereas a whistleblower lawfully filed a complaint on August 12, 2019, with the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, who determined that the complaint appeared ‘‘credible’’ and involved a matter of ‘‘urgent concern’’ in accordance with section 17(d)(5) of the Central Intel- ligence Agency Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. 3517(d)(5)) (com- monly known as the ‘‘Intelligence Community Whistle- blower Protection Act of 1998’’); and Whereas 90 former national security officials who served in Democratic and Republican administrations wrote an VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR408.IS SR408 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •SRES 408 IS open letter to the people of the United States stating, ‘‘Whatever one’s view of the matters discussed in the whistleblower’s complaint, all Americans should be united in demanding that all branches of our government and all outlets of our media protect this whistleblower and his or her identity. Simply put, he or she has done what our law demands; now he or she deserves our protection.’’: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) appreciates employees and contractors, 2 working on behalf of the taxpayers of the United 3 States, who ‘‘blow the whistle’’ to the appropriate 4 authorities by honest and good faith reporting of 5 misconduct, fraud, misdemeanors, and other crimes; 6 (2) acknowledges the contributions of whistle- 7 blowers to combat abuse, fraud, and violations of 8 laws and regulations of the United States that have 9 helped to safeguard the national security of the 10 United States, democracy, and the rule of law in the 11 United States; and 12 (3) recognizes that the duty affirmed by Con- 13 gress since the founding of the United States to re- 14 port misconduct, fraud, and violations of law calls 15 for a corresponding duty of Members of Congress 16 and their staff, employees of the Executive Office of 17 the President and executive branch agencies, and the 18 President of the United States to— 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR408.IS SR408 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •SRES 408 IS (A) protect the identities of whistleblowers 1 who report abuse, fraud, and violations of laws 2 and regulations of the United States; and 3 (B) safeguard whistleblowers from retalia- 4 tion. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR408.IS SR408 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS