A bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives — a companion bill to one already introduced in the Senate — that would compensate whistleblowers who report instances of financial wrongdoing to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The House bill — H.R.5484 — was introduced by Rep. Al Green [D-Texas], and is modeled after legislation that was introduced in the Senate last month by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto [D-Nev.].
H.R.5484 was one of two whistleblower-protection bills introduced by Rep. Green. The other bill seeks to strengthen protections for individuals who report instances of wrongdoing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The whistleblower reward program at the CFPB being sought by Rep. Green and Sen. Cortez Masto is modeled on the one currently in place at the SEC.
“This new program will equip the CFPB with timely information to more swiftly uncover consumer protection violations and reduce the number of consumers harmed,” Rep. Green said in a statement. “Accordingly, my legislation, along with its Senate counterpart recently introduced by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, S. 2775, will protect all whistleblowers from retaliation and will compensate those whose reporting leads to significant financial recoveries or fines.”
Whistleblowing has become a popular term this week after a former data engineer at Facebook revealed that the social media giant may not have been doing all it could to curb the spread of misinformation via its platform.
“Regardless of whether they are reporting misconduct to the SEC, the CFPB, or their own company, whistleblowers who courageously expose corruption and fraudulent practices must — and under my legislation will — be protected from retaliation by their employers,” Rep. Green said. “As recent headlines demonstrate, whistleblowers are critical to keeping bad actors in check, protecting consumers and investors, and holding institutions accountable for wrongdoing. I look forward to developments in Congress where this legislation is concerned and am hopeful it will be enacted in the near future.”
