Sponsors (13)
Creates a Commerce-run whistleblower reward program for export-control violations and a Treasury fund to pay awards from fines and forfeitures.
Official title: To amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to establish a whistleblower incentive program and provide protections to whistleblowers.
Introduced November 28, 2025 by Thomas Kean · Last progress November 28, 2025
The bill strengthens export enforcement and sustains victim-assistance funding by incentivizing and protecting whistleblowers and dedicating penalty revenue, at the cost of higher compliance and fiscal burdens, eligibility/confidentiality limits that may deter some insiders, and reduced budgetary flexibility.
Exporters, tech companies, and national security stakeholders will face stronger enforcement and fewer unlawful shipments of advanced AI chips because a whistleblower program and related measures are designed to generate more high-value tips and improve compliance.
Individuals (including non-U.S. citizens) who report original information about export violations can receive monetary awards equal to 10–30% of collected fines, creating a direct financial incentive to disclose wrongdoing.
Employees and contractors who report violations gain stronger protections from employer retaliation (reinstatement, double back pay, attorneys' fees), making it safer to come forward.
Employers and private firms (including small businesses, tech firms, and contractors) will likely face higher compliance costs and greater litigation risk from increased investigations and whistleblower suits, which can raise prices or reduce competitiveness.
The government (and thus taxpayers) may incur significant fiscal costs from whistleblower reward payouts and from locking at least $100 million (inflation‑adjusted) into the Export Compliance Accountability Fund, reducing funds available for other discretionary priorities.
Potential whistleblowers who obtained information by participating in wrongdoing or who obtained information via ambiguous or legally dubious means are largely disqualified, which may deter insiders in complex cases from coming forward.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Creates a whistleblower incentive program within the Commerce Department (Bureau of Industry and Security) to reward individuals who provide original information that leads to civil penalties or forfeitures for violations of U.S. export controls—especially diversion of advanced AI chips to adversaries. Awards equal 10–30% of collected amounts are paid from a new Export Compliance Accountability Fund funded by fines and forfeitures resulting from whistleblower-originated actions. Requires Commerce to set up a secure portal (including anonymous tips) and expedited review and status updates; bars employer retaliation and creates a private right of action with remedies; establishes confidentiality rules; and protects existing required deposits into the Crime Victims Fund and the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund from diversion by this Act.