Text of Senate Amendment 5445

On 2026-05-20, Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 5445" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 5445

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 86 (Wednesday, May 20, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 20, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S2422-S2423] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 5445. Mr. BARRASSO (for Mr. Rounds) proposed an amendment to the bill S. 1473, to amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to establish a whistleblower incentive program and provide protections to whistleblowers; as follows: Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Stealing our Chips Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) Violations of the export control laws of the United States, especially the diversion of leading-edge artificial intelligence chips into countries that are adversaries of the United States, threaten the national security of the United States. (2) Individuals who accurately report violations of United States export control laws play a significant role in helping authorities identify and mitigate such threats. (3) An incentive program that rewards whistleblowers can significantly enhance enforcement efforts by encouraging individuals to provide high-value information on potential violations. SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF WHISTLEBLOWER INCENTIVE PROGRAM AND WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. (a) Establishment of Whistleblower Incentive Program and Whistleblower Protections.--The Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 1761 the following: ``SEC. 1761A. WHISTLEBLOWER INCENTIVES AND PROTECTIONS. ``(a) Definitions.--In this section: ``(1) Original information.--The term `original information' means information that is-- ``(A) derived from the independent knowledge or analysis of a whistleblower; ``(B) not known to the Secretary from any other source; ``(C) not exclusively derived from an allegation made in a judicial or administrative hearing, a governmental report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from news media, unless the whistleblower is the source of such allegation; and ``(D) provided to the Secretary voluntarily, without any request from the Secretary or any other government official. ``(2) Whistleblower.-- ``(A) In general.--The term `whistleblower' means, except as provided by subparagraph (B), any individual (including an individual who is not a United States citizen) who provides, or 2 or more such individuals acting jointly who provide, to the Secretary information relating to a possible violation of this part or of any regulation, order, license, or other authorization issued under this part. ``(B) Exclusions.--The term `whistleblower' does not include-- ``(i) a Federal employee acting within the scope of the duties of the employee; or ``(ii) an individual on any of the following lists: ``(I) The list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury. ``(II) The Denied Persons List maintained pursuant to section 764.3(a)(2) of the Export Administration Regulations. ``(III) The Entity List set forth in Supplement No. 4 to part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations. ``(b) Whistleblower Incentive Program.-- ``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish a whistleblower incentive program to reward individuals who provide original information that leads to-- ``(A) the imposition of fines under this part on persons that violate, attempt to violate, conspire to violate, or cause a violation of this part or any regulation, order, license, or other authorization issued under this part; or ``(B) the forfeiture of any property under section 1761(j). ``(2) Whistleblower reports.-- ``(A) Online portal.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall develop, implement, and maintain a secure portal, or update and maintain an existing secure portal, on a website accessible to the public, for the reporting of original information relating to-- ``(i) persons that violate, attempt to violate, conspire to violate, or cause a violation of this part or any regulation, order, license, or other authorization issued under this part; and ``(ii) items that have been, are being, or are about to be exported, reexported, or in-country transferred in violation of this part or any regulation, order, license, or other authorization issued under this part. ``(B) Anonymity.-- ``(i) In general.--As an alternative to submission through the portal required by subparagraph (A), an individual may submit a report of original information under this subsection anonymously, including through an attorney. ``(ii) Exception.--The Secretary may require that the identity of an individual be disclosed for the individual to receive an award under paragraph (3). ``(C) Expedited review.-- ``(i) Initial review.--Not later than 60 days after the date of receipt of a report from a whistleblower, the Secretary shall-- ``(I) determine whether the report is credible; and ``(II) if credible, initiate a formal investigation of the allegations contained in the report. ``(ii) Investigation.--The Secretary shall pursue any formal investigation initiated under clause (i)(II) with urgency and conclude the investigation within a reasonable amount of time. ``(iii) Notification.-- ``(I) In general.--Subject to the confidentiality requirements of section 1761(h), the Secretary shall update the whistleblower on the status of a report and, if applicable, the related investigation not later than 90 days after the date on which the whistleblower submitted the report and not less frequently than every 90 days thereafter. ``(II) Sensitive information.--The Secretary may omit from the updates required by subclause (I) any information that could compromise an ongoing investigation, including confirmation of the existence of any specific investigation. ``(D) Avoidance of frivolous reports.--The Secretary may prohibit an individual from making reports under this subsection if the individual has previously submitted multiple reports under this subsection that the Secretary determined under subparagraph (C)(i) were not credible. ``(3) Awards.-- ``(A) Eligibility.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary may pay an award or awards to any whistleblower who provided original information that led to the imposition of a fine under this part on a person or persons that violated, attempted to violate, conspired to violate, or caused a violation of this part or any regulation, order, license, or other authorization issued under this part. ``(B) Disqualification.-- ``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), the Secretary may not pay an award or awards to any whistleblower who provides original information with respect to a person or persons that violated, attempted to violate, conspired to violate, or caused a violation of this part or any regulation, order, license, or other authorization issued under this part, if such information was obtained through-- ``(I) the role of the whistleblower as-- ``(aa) an officer, director, trustee, or partner of an entity that handles internal processes for legal violations for the person or persons; ``(bb) an employee of an entity that conducts compliance or internal audits for the person or persons; ``(cc) an employee of a public accounting firm if the information was obtained while working on an engagement required by Federal securities laws, other than specific audits; or [[Page S2423]] ``(II) any means that violates Federal or State criminal law. ``(ii) Exceptions.--Clause (i) shall not apply if-- ``(I) the whistleblower had a reasonable basis to believe that disclosing the original information to the Secretary was necessary to stop conduct likely to cause significant financial harm; ``(II) the whistleblower had a reasonable basis to believe that the relevant entity was obstructing an investigation into the misconduct; or ``(III) not less than 120 days have elapsed since the whistleblower provided the information to the audit committee, chief legal officer, chief compliance officer (or their equivalent) of the relevant entity or the supervisor of the whistleblower. ``(C) Amount.-- ``(i) In general.--An award issued under subparagraph (A) shall be-- ``(I) not less than 10 percent, in total, of the amount collected of the fine imposed under this part; and ``(II) not more than 30 percent, in total, of the amount collected of that fine. ``(ii) Jointly submitted report.--In the case of a report that was submitted jointly by 2 or more individuals, any award issued under subparagraph (A) shall be split equally among the individuals. ``(D) Determination.--The Secretary shall determine the amount of an award made under subparagraph (A) taking into account, with respect to the information provided-- ``(i) accuracy; ``(ii) relevance; ``(iii) timeliness; and ``(iv) usefulness. ``(E) Submission of information.--No award may be made under this paragraph based on information submitted to the Secretary unless such information is submitted under penalty of perjury. ``(4) Publication.-- ``(A) In general.--Not later than the date on which the online portal required by paragraph (2)(A) is operational, the Secretary shall develop and implement a plan to publicize the whistleblower incentive program established by paragraph (1). ``(B) Funding.--The Secretary shall pay any expenses incurred under subparagraph (A) from amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Bureau of Industry and Security. ``(c) Protection of Whistleblowers.-- ``(1) Prohibition against retaliation.-- ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), no employer may discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, directly or indirectly, or in any other manner discriminate against a whistleblower in the terms and conditions of employment because of a l