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A bill strengthening anti-retaliation protections for wildlife whistleblowers made it out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday, marking another move to improve protections for insiders who expose wrongdoing.

The Rescuing Animals with Rewards (RAWR) Act improves the reach and rewards for wildlife whistleblower programs. In addition, it adds anti-retaliation protections to current wildlife whistleblower laws like the Endangered Species Act and Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act.

The National Whistleblower Center, which runs a wildlife whistleblower program, supports the act. “The RAWR Act would be a critical addition to the current legal framework. Whistleblower rewards are proven to work. When offered by the State Department for assistance with law enforcement actions worldwide, and in conjunction with protections against retaliation, the Act will offer a powerful tool in combating illegal wildlife trafficking.”

At the same time, the explosive intelligence community whistleblower case has put the topic on the top of the national agenda.
Here’s some of the latest in this constantly developing story.…

Continue Reading Bill would benefit wildlife whistleblowers. What laws protect other whistleblowers?

Not all the recent whistleblower news from Capitol Hill involves the president and the Ukraine.  The House last week passed a bill that would add a whistleblower protection provision to rules governing a national accounting oversight board. And on Monday, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), introduced a bill that advocates say will protect whistleblowers who report financial crimes internally before going to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

That bill would address the impact of last year’s Supreme Court decision in Digital Realty Trust Inc. v. Somers.  The ruling limited protected whistleblowing to disclosures to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), leaving those who report internaly vulnerable, according to Stephen Kohn, chair of the National Whistleblower Center. …
Continue Reading Lawmakers take up bills to protect whistleblowers who expose financial and wildlife crimes