To amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to establish a whistleblower incentive program and provide protections to whistleblowers.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Kean (for himself and Ms. Johnson of Texas) introduced …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill creates a whistleblower program to catch illegal exports of advanced technology, especially AI chips, to U.S. adversaries. Individuals who report export control violations can receive financial awards between 10-30% of any fines over $1 million that result from their information. The bill also provides strong anti-retaliation protections and confidentiality for whistleblowers.
Who Benefits and How
Whistleblowers benefit from financial rewards (10-30% of fines over $1M) and legal protections including reinstatement rights and double back pay if retaliated against. The Bureau of Industry and Security gains enhanced enforcement capability through a new reporting portal and dedicated funding via the Export Compliance Accountability Fund. U.S. semiconductor and AI chip manufacturers benefit from stronger enforcement against competitors who divert products illegally.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Companies violating export controls face increased detection risk and potential fines. Employers cannot retaliate against whistleblowers and face liability for doing so. The Department of Commerce must establish the program within 120 days, create a secure reporting portal, and review reports within 60 days. Companies must implement stronger internal compliance to avoid violations being reported.
Key Provisions
- Whistleblower awards of 10-30% of fines collected over $1 million
- Secure anonymous reporting portal required within 120 days
- Export Compliance Accountability Fund established with $100M minimum balance
- Anti-retaliation protections with 2x back pay and attorneys fees for prevailing plaintiffs
- 60-day credibility review and investigation initiation requirement
- Confidentiality protections exempt from FOIA disclosure
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes a whistleblower incentive program and protections for individuals who report export control violations, particularly the illegal diversion of AI chips to U.S. adversaries, with awards of 10-30% of fines collected exceeding $1 million.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Leverage private enforcement through financial incentives to enhance detection of export control violations, particularly AI chip diversion to adversaries"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Commerce
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Information derived from independent knowledge/analysis of a whistleblower, not known to the Secretary from other sources, not exclusively from public allegations, and provided voluntarily
Any individual (including non-US citizens) who provides information relating to possible export control violations, excluding federal employees acting within duties and individuals on OFAC, Denied Persons, or Entity Lists
Any judicial or administrative action brought by a US government entity based on original whistleblower information that led to successful export control enforcement
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology