Whistleblower Improvement Act of 2011
Latest action · Dec 14, 2011 Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 19 - 14 .
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 11, 2011
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Whistleblower Improvement Act of 2011 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Commodity Exchange Act to require a whistleblower employee, as a prerequisite to eligibility for a whistleblower award, to: (1) first report information relating to misconduct to his or her employer before reporting it to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and (2) report such information to the SEC within 180 days after reporting it to the employer.
Prohibits a whistleblower award to any whistleblower who fails to report the relevant information to his or her employer first, unless: (1) the employer lacks either a policy prohibiting retaliation for reporting potential misconduct or an internal reporting system allowing for anonymous reporting, or (2) the SEC determines that internal reporting was not a viable option.
Prohibits a whistleblower award to any whistleblower who has legal or compliance responsibilities and a fiduciary or contractual obligation to investigate internal reports of misconduct or violations if the information learned by the whistleblower during the course of his or her duties was communicated with the reasonable expectation that such person would take appropriate steps to respond.
Makes the whistleblower award discretionary instead of mandatory. Repeals the minimum award requirement.
Prohibits an award to a whistleblower found civilly liable or determined by the SEC to have been complicit in misconduct related to the pertinent violation.
Requires the SEC to notify the pertinent entity before commencing any enforcement action relating to information reported by a whistleblower, unless such notification would jeopardize investigative measures and impede the gathering of relevant facts.
Directs the Comptroller General to study what impact, if any, the whistleblower incentives program has had upon shareholder value.
Cosponsors 5
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 11, 2011 to Sep 14, 2011; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-CA | John Campbell | Original | Jul 11, 2011 |
| R-NJ | Scott Garrett | Original | Jul 11, 2011 |
| R-OH | Steve Stivers | Original | Jul 11, 2011 |
| R-TX | Bill Flores | Jul 15, 2011 | |
| R-IL | Donald A. Manzullo | Sep 14, 2011 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Financial Services Committee | Referred Jul 11, 2011 |
| Capital Markets Subcommittee | Hearings May 11, 2011Referred Aug 22, 2011Markup Dec 14, 2011Reported Dec 14, 2011 | |
| House | Agriculture Committee | Referred Jul 11, 2011 |
| General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit Subcommittee | Referred Jul 22, 2011 |
Actions 7
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 14, 2011Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Dec 14, 2011Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 19 - 14 .
- Aug 22, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises.
- Jul 22, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management.
- Jul 11, 2011Introduced in House
- Jul 11, 2011Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- May 11, 2011Hearings Held by the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Prior to Introduction and Referral.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H4851.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R42129 | Derivatives Legislation in the 112th Congress Archived | Report | Dec 27, 2011 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Commodity Exchange Act to modify certain provisions relating to whistleblower incentives and protection.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Whistleblower Improvement Act of 2011
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector.
- Administrative remedies
- Business ethics
- Commodities markets
- Congressional oversight
- Corporate finance and management
- Employment discrimination and employee rights
- Finance and Financial Sector
- Financial services and investments
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Securities
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 11, 2011Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
