Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act of 2026

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5578, the Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act.

Whistleblowers are crucial to our ability to conduct congressional oversight. They are key to identifying and stopping waste, fraud, corruption, and abuse of power.

Millions of workers performing critical jobs for the U.S. Government are contractors, not Federal civil servants, but they don't have the same whistleblower protections as civil servants right now. As a result, contractors are less likely to report wrongdoing, especially since they fear retaliation or mistreatment.

This bill would strengthen protections for contractors. It protects them from retaliation for refusal to participate in illegal activity. It also ensures that contractors are legally able to disclose waste, fraud, abuse, and dangers to public health and safety.

This bill will help us do our job to uncover abuses of power. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.

I thank the ranking member for his leadership on this issue. Especially at a time when a lot of folks in Federal civil service and Federal contractors are concerned about coming forward, we need to protect whistleblowers more than ever.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source