TEXT OF AMENDMENTS

Quick facts

Record: Senate Floor
Section type: Amendments
Chamber: Senate
Date: May 20, 2026
Congress: 119th Congress
Why this source matters: This section came from the Senate floor portion of the record.

Linked context

Bills and resolutions: S. 2 (119th Congress), S.Con.Res. 33 (119th Congress), S. 1473 (119th Congress)

Readable version of the official text

SA 5443. Mr. CASSIDY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2, to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 33; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. . PROHIBITION ON PAYMENTS FROM THE ANTI-

WEAPONIZATION FUND.

No payment shall be made from the “Anti-Weaponization

Fund” established by the Attorney General on May 18, 2026.

SA 5444. Mr. BARRASSO (for Mrs. Blackburn) proposed an amendment to the bill S. 3023, to limit liability for certain entities storing child sexual abuse material for law enforcement agencies, and for other purposes; as follows:

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the

following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Safe Cloud Storage Act”.

SEC. 2. STORAGE OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, CHILD OBSCENITY, AND

INTIMATE VISUAL DEPICTIONS OF MINORS.

(a) In General.—Title II of the PROTECT Our Children Act

of 2008 (34 U.S.C. 21101 et seq.) is amended by inserting

after section 201 the following:

“SEC. 202. MODERNIZING LAW ENFORCEMENT'S ABILITY TO STORE

CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, CHILD OBSCENITY, AND

INTIMATE VISUAL DEPICTIONS OF MINORS AND

LIMITED LIABILITY FOR APPROVED VENDORS.

“(a) Definitions.—In this section:

“(1) Approved vendor.—The term `approved vendor' means a

cloud service provider that—

“(A) complies with the security requirements described in

subsection (c); and

“(B) has been contractually retained by a covered agency

to support the duties of such agency by—

“(i) storing digital child pornography, child obscenity,

or an intimate visual depiction of a minor;

“(ii) making such child pornography, child obscenity, or

intimate visual depiction of a minor available to the

contracting agency, or any law enforcement or prosecutorial

agency designated by the contracting agency, upon request;

and

“(iii) providing maintenance, technical and analytical

assistance, and forensic tool processing support upon request

by the contracting agency.

“(2) Child pornography.—The term `child pornography' has

the meaning given that term in section 2256(8) of title 18,

United States Code.

“(3) Cloud service provider.—The term `cloud service

provider' means an organization, corporation, or entity that

makes available digital storage services, including remote or

cloud-based storage, and analytical and forensic tool

processing support.

“(4) Covered agency.—The term `covered agency' means a

Federal, State, or local law enforcement or prosecutorial

agency.

“(5) Intimate visual depiction of a minor.—The term

`intimate visual depiction of a minor' means an intimate

visual depiction, as defined in section 223(h) of the

Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 223(h)), including a

digital forgery, of an identifiable individual who is a

minor, as that term is defined in such section.

“(6) Local.—The term `local' means any political

subdivision of a State.

“(7) State.—The term `State' means any of the 50 States

of the United States, the District of Columbia, the

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United

States, Guam, American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the

Northern Mariana Islands.

“(b) Limited Liability for Approved Vendors.—

“(1) Limited liability for law enforcement approved

vendors.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), a civil claim

or criminal charge may not be brought in any Federal or State

court against an approved vendor relating to the approved

vendor's performance of any contractual obligation or service

described in subsection (a)(1).

“(2) Intentional, reckless, or other misconduct.—A civil

claim or criminal charge may be brought in any Federal or

State court against an approved vendor if the approved

vendor—

“(A) engaged in—

“(i) intentional misconduct; or

“(ii) negligent conduct; or

“(B) acted, or failed to act—

“(i) with actual malice;

“(ii) with reckless disregard to a substantial risk of

causing injury without legal justification; or

“(iii) for a purpose unrelated to the performance of any

responsibility or function described in subsection (a)(1)(B).

“(c) Vendor Cybersecurity Requirements.—With respect to

any child pornography, child obscenity, or intimate visual

depiction of a minor stored, maintained, or processed by an

approved vendor, such approved vendor shall—

“(1) secure such child pornography, child obscenity, or

intimate visual depiction of a minor in a manner that is

consistent with the most recent version of the Cybersecurity

Framework developed by the National Institute of Standards

and Technology, or any successor thereto;

“(2) only access the child pornography, child obscenity,

or intimate visual depiction of a minor upon consent of the

covered agency contracting the service and for the purpose of

providing maintenance, technical assistance, and forensic

tool processing support in the cloud;

“(3) minimize the number of employees that may be able to

obtain access to such child pornography, child obscenity, or

intimate visual depiction of a minor and maintain a list of

employees who have obtained such access;

“(4) employ end-to-end encryption for data storage and

transfer functions, or an equivalent technological standard;

“(5) undergo an independent annual cybersecurity audit to

determine whether such child pornography, child obscenity, or

intimate visual depiction of a minor is secured as required

by paragraphs (1), (3), and (4), including by assessing

compliance with the National Institute of Standards and

Technology Special Publication 800-53, Revision 5 (relating

to security and privacy controls for information systems and

organizations) or any successor documents or revisions; and

“(6) promptly address all issues identified by an audit

described in paragraph (5).

“(d) Evidence Storage.—Any covered agency that stores

child pornography, child obscenity, or an intimate visual

depiction of a minor pursuant to a contract with an approved

vendor shall retain such evidence—

“(1) in compliance with the security policy of the

Criminal Justice Information Services Division of the Federal

Bureau of Investigation, or any other similar and appropriate

division within the Federal Bureau of Investigation;

“(2) for a period consistent with the evidence retention

requirements applicable to the covered agency under the

relevant Federal, State, or local law, rule of criminal

procedure, or prosecutorial policy; or

“(3) in the absence of such law, rule, or policy, for a

period not less than the applicable statute of limitations or

the duration of any sentence imposed, including the period of

post-conviction review.

“(e) Additional Requirements for Approved Vendors.—

“(1) Location of data.—

“(A) In general.—Except as provided in subparagraph (B),

each approved vendor shall ensure that any child pornography,

child obscenity, or intimate visual depiction of a minor

stored pursuant to this section remains in the United States.

“(B) Exception.—Child pornography, child obscenity, and

intimate visual depictions of a minor stored under this

section may be transferred outside the United States only

with the express consent of the contracting covered agency if

such agency deems the transfer necessary for investigative

purposes.

“(2) Notification letter.—

“(A) In general.—Approved vendors shall file a

notification letter with the Criminal Division of the

Department of Justice not

later than 30 days after entering into a contract described

in subsection (a)(1)(B).

“(B) Contents.—The notification letter described in

subparagraph (A) shall include the entity name and point of

contact information of the approved vendor, the name of the

contracting covered agency, the period of performance of the

contract, and an acknowledgment by the approved vendor that

the approved vendor will notify the Child Exploitation and

Obscenity Section of the Criminal Division of the Department

of Justice of any changes to the information in the letter.

“(3) Breach of contract.—

“(A) In general.—If a covered agency fails to make

required payment under a contract, breaches any material term

of such contract, or otherwise terminates such contract

without establishing lawful transfer of the evidence, the

approved vendor shall, not later than 30 days after the

failure, breach, or termination, notify the Criminal Division

of the Department of Justice in the case of a breach by a

Federal agency, or the appropriate State attorney general in

the case of a breach by a State or local agency.

“(B) Maintenance of evidence.—Upon making a notification

under subparagraph (A), the approved vendor shall continue to

preserve and maintain the integrity of the evidence until a

prompt and lawful transfer of custody occurs to the Criminal

Division of the Department of Justice or another Federal,

State, or local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction.

“(f) Rule of Construction.—Nothing in this section shall

be construed to limit—

“(1) bona fide use by the contracting covered agency of

child pornography, child obscenity, or intimate visual

depiction of a minor being stored by the approved vendor,

which includes providing such child pornography or child

obscenity to any other party as necessary for an

investigation or prosecution; or

“(2) the obligation of the contracting covered agency to

comply with a constitutional or statutory obligation, court

order, or request from a victim made pursuant to section

3509(m)(3) of title 18, United States Code.”.

(b) Clerical Amendment.—Section 1(b) of the PROTECT Our

Children Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-401; 122 Stat. 4229) is

amended by inserting after the item relating to section 201

the following:

“Sec. 202. Modernizing law enforcement's ability to store child

pornography, child obscenity, and intimate visual

depictions of minors and limited liability for approved

vendors.”.

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

“(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 lawful act done by the

whistleblower—

“(i) in reporting violations to the employer or to a law

enforcement agency;

“(ii) in providing information to the Secretary in

accordance with this section; or

“(iii) in initiating, testifying in, or assisting in any

investigation or judicial or administrative action based upon

or related to such information.

“(B) Exception.—The protection against retaliation

established by subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any

individual who reports information under this section knowing

that such information is false.

“(C) Enforcement.—

“(i) Cause of action.—An individual who alleges discharge

or other discrimination in violation of subparagraph (A) may

bring an action under this paragraph in the appropriate

district court of the United States for the relief provided

in subparagraph (D).

“(ii) Subpoenas.—A subpoena requiring the attendance of a

witness at a trial or hearing conducted under this

subparagraph may be served at any place in the United States.

“(iii) Statute of limitations.—

“(I) In general.—An action under this subparagraph shall

not be entertained if commenced more than—

“(aa) 6 years after the date of the violation of

subparagraph (A) occurred; or

“(bb) 3 years after the date when facts material to the

right of action are known or reasonably should have been

known by the employee alleging a violation of subparagraph

(A).

“(II) Required action within 10 years.—Notwithstanding

subclause (I), an action under this subparagraph may not in

any circumstance be brought more than 10 years after the date

on which the violation occurs.

“(D) Relief.—Relief for an individual prevailing in an

action brought under subparagraph (C) shall include—

“(i) reinstatement with the same seniority status that the

individual would have had, but for the discrimination;

“(ii) 2 times the amount of back pay otherwise owed to the

individual, with interest; and

“(iii) compensation for litigation costs, expert witness

fees, and reasonable attorneys' fees.

“(2) Confidentiality.—

“(A) In general.—Except as provided in subparagraphs (B)

and (C), the Secretary and any officer or employee of the

Department of Commerce shall not disclose any information,

including information provided by a whistleblower to the

Secretary, that could reasonably be expected to reveal the

identity of the whistleblower, except in accordance with the

provisions of section 552a of title 5, United States Code,

unless and until required to be disclosed to a defendant or

respondent in connection with a public proceeding instituted

by the Secretary or any entity described in subparagraph (D).

“(B) Exempted statute.—For purposes of section 552 of

title 5, United States Code, this paragraph shall be

considered a statute described in subsection (b)(3)(B) of

such section.

“(C) Rule of construction.—Nothing in this section is

intended to limit, or shall be construed to limit, the

ability of the Attorney General to present such evidence to a

grand jury or to share such evidence with potential witnesses

or defendants in the course of an ongoing criminal

investigation.

“(D) Availability to government agencies.—

“(i) In general.—Without the loss of its status as

confidential in the hands of the Secretary, all information

referred to in subparagraph (A) may, in the discretion of the

Secretary, when determined by the Secretary to be necessary

to accomplish the purposes of this part or any regulation,

order, license, or other authorization issued under this

part, be made available to—

“(I) a Federal law enforcement agency;

“(II) a national security agency;

“(III) an appropriate regulatory authority or Federal

investigative agency;

“(IV) a self-regulatory organization; and

“(V) a foreign law enforcement authority.

“(ii) Confidentiality.—

“(I) In general.—Each of the entities described in

subclauses (I) through (IV) of clause (i) shall maintain such

information as confidential in accordance with the

requirements established under subparagraph (A).

“(II) Foreign authorities.—An entity described in clause

(i)(V) shall maintain such information in accordance with

such assurances of confidentiality as the Secretary

determines appropriate.

“(d) Export Compliance Accountability Fund.—

“(1) Establishment.—Not later than 90 days after the date

of the enactment of this section, there shall be established

in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as

the `Export Compliance Accountability Fund' (in this

subsection referred to as the `Fund').

“(2) Availability.—At the end of each fiscal year, any

amounts deposited into the Fund under paragraph (4) that

remain in the Fund after the payment, for that fiscal year,

of all expenses under paragraph (3), excluding the amount

estimated for outstanding awards, shall be transferred to the

general fund of the Treasury.

“(3) Use of fund.—The Fund shall be available to the

Secretary, without further appropriation or fiscal year

limitation, for—

“(A) paying awards to whistleblowers as provided in

subsection (b)(3);

“(B) funding activities that support the whistleblower

incentive program and whistleblower protections, including—

“(i) reviewing and investigating whistleblower reports;

“(ii) providing training and education on compliance with

the confidentiality requirement under subsection (c)(2); and

“(iii) record keeping and maintaining the portal under

subsection (b)(2)(A), as considered necessary by the

Secretary; and

“(C) if all outstanding awards under subsection (b)(3)

have been paid, expenses related to enforcement of this part

or any regulation, order, license, or other authorization

issued under this part.

“(4) Deposits and credits.—

“(A) In general.—There shall be deposited into or

credited to the Fund an amount equal to any fine collected by

the Secretary on or after the date of the enactment of this

section in any judicial or administrative action brought by

the Secretary that depends on or was initiated because of

original information submitted by a whistleblower.

“(B) Exception.—No amounts to be deposited or transferred

into the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism

Fund pursuant to the Justice for United States Victims of

State Sponsored Terrorism Act (34 U.S.C. 20144) or the Crime

Victims Fund pursuant section 1402 of the Victims of Crime

Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 20101) shall be deposited into or

credited to the Fund.

“(e) Initial Funding.—The Secretary shall pay, from

amounts otherwise available to the Bureau of Industry and

Security, any expenses incurred under this section before the

Export Compliance Accountability Fund is established under

subsection (d) and has received deposits under paragraph (4)

of that subsection.”.

(b) Conforming Amendment.—Section 1402(b)(1)(B) of the

Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 20101(b)(1)(B)) is

amended—

(1) in clause (iii), by striking “; and” and inserting a

semicolon;

(2) in clause (iv), by striking the semicolon and inserting

“; and”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following;

“(v) the Export Compliance Accountability Fund pursuant to

section 1761A(d) of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018.”.

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