STOP STEALING OUR CHIPS ACT

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

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People mentioned: Barrasso, John
Bills and resolutions: S. 1473 (119th Congress)
Committees: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 1473 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.

The senior assistant executive clerk read as follows:

A bill (S. 1473) to amend the Export Control Reform Act of

2018 to establish a whistleblower incentive program and

provide protections to whistleblowers.

There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the

Senate proceeded to consider the bill.

Mr. BARRASSO. I ask unanimous consent that the Rounds substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

The amendment (No. 5445) in the nature of a substitute was agreed to, as follows: (Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)

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.”.

The bill (S. 1473), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

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There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the

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