Federal Funds Whistleblower Protection Extension Act
Sponsored By: Representative Fischbach
Introduced
Summary
Extends federal whistleblower protections to people who expose misuse of Federal funds run by State or local officials. It creates a new chapter in federal law that covers employees, contractors, subgrantees, and agents of non‑Federal entities and pairs protections with criminal penalties and funding conditions.
Show full summary
- Workers and contractors who report waste, fraud, abuse, or violations in federally funded State or local programs gain protection from personnel actions like firing, suspension, demotion, pay cuts, reassignment, or harassment.
- State and local officials who retaliate face criminal penalties on a tiered scale: negligent retaliation can bring a fine up to $50,000; knowing retaliation can bring a fine up to $100,000 and up to 1 year in prison; intentional retaliation for personal gain or concealment can bring a fine up to $250,000 and up to 5 years in prison.
- States and local governments must certify compliance with the new rules to receive Federal financial assistance, and failure to comply can lead to corrective actions, suspension, or termination of Federal funds.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Federal grants tied to whistleblower rules
If enacted, the bill would require each State or local government to certify compliance with the new whistleblower protection chapter to receive federal financial assistance. If a recipient fails to comply, federal officials could require corrective actions, suspend funds, or terminate funding for the affected program. This condition would start upon enactment and apply to any state or local government that gets federal money for covered programs.
Criminal penalties for whistleblower retaliation
If enacted, the bill would let a federal agency or Inspector General refer cases of suspected retaliation to the Attorney General for criminal investigation. It would make retaliation by covered officials an offense with tiered penalties: negligent retaliation could be fined up to $50,000; knowing retaliation could be fined up to $100,000 and jailed up to 1 year; intentional retaliation to hide misuse or for personal gain could be fined up to $250,000 and jailed up to 5 years. These authorities and penalty ranges would take effect upon enactment.
Whistleblower protections for state workers
If enacted, the bill would protect people who work for state or local governments or non‑federal groups that get federal money. You would be covered if you are an employee, contractor, subgrantee, or agent administering or receiving federal financial assistance. It would bar officials from firing, demoting, cutting pay, reassigning, threatening, or harassing you because you lawfully report waste, fraud, misuse of federal funds, violations of federal law related to a federal program, or gross mismanagement.
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Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Fischbach
MN • R
Cosponsors
Finstad
MN • R
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Stauber
MN • R
Sponsored 3/9/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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