H. R. 22—405 
‘‘(C) SATISFACTION
OF
REQUIREMENTS.—A regulation 
promulgated under subparagraph (A) may be considered 
to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (2)(B).’’. 
SEC. 24334. TIRE IDENTIFICATION STUDY AND REPORT. 
(a) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a study to examine 
the feasibility of requiring all manufacturers of tires subject to 
section 30117(b) of title 49, United States Code, to— 
(1) include electronic identification on every tire that 
reflects all of the information currently required in the tire 
identification number; and 
(2) ensure that the same type and format of electronic 
information technology is used on all tires. 
(b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representa-
tives a report on the results of the study required by paragraph 
(1). 
SEC. 24335. TIRE RECALL DATABASE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a publicly avail-
able and searchable electronic database of tire recall information 
that is reported to the Administrator of the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration. 
(b) TIRE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.—The database established 
under subsection (a) shall be searchable by Tire Identification 
Number (TIN) and any other criteria that assists consumers in 
determining whether a tire is subject to a recall. 
PART IV—ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLES 
SEC. 24341. REGULATORY PARITY FOR NATURAL GAS VEHICLES. 
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
shall revise the regulations issued in sections 600.510-12(c)(2)(vi) 
and 600.510-12(c)(2) (vii)(A) of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, 
to replace references to the year ‘‘2019’’ with the year ‘‘2016’’. 
PART V—MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY 
WHISTLEBLOWER ACT 
SEC. 24351. SHORT TITLE. 
This part may be cited as the ‘‘Motor Vehicle Safety Whistle-
blower Act’’. 
SEC. 24352. MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY WHISTLEBLOWER INCENTIVES 
AND PROTECTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 301 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘§ 30172. Whistleblower incentives and protections 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COVERED ACTION.—The term ‘covered action’ means 
any administrative or judicial action, including any related 
administrative or judicial action, brought by the Secretary or 
the Attorney General under this chapter that in the aggregate 
results in monetary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000.
H. R. 22—406 
‘‘(2) MONETARY SANCTIONS.—The term ‘monetary sanctions’ 
means monies, including penalties and interest, ordered or 
agreed to be paid. 
‘‘(3) ORIGINAL INFORMATION.—The term ‘original informa-
tion’ means information that— 
‘‘(A) is derived from the independent knowledge or 
analysis of an individual; 
‘‘(B) is not known to the Secretary from any other 
source, unless the individual is the original source of the 
information; and 
‘‘(C) is not exclusively derived from an allegation made 
in a judicial or an administrative action, in a governmental 
report, a hearing, an audit, or an investigation, or from 
the news media, unless the individual is a source of the 
information. 
‘‘(4) PART
SUPPLIER.—The term ‘part supplier’ means a 
manufacturer of motor vehicle equipment. 
‘‘(5) SUCCESSFUL RESOLUTION.—The term ‘successful resolu-
tion’, with respect to a covered action, includes any settlement 
or adjudication of the covered action. 
‘‘(6) WHISTLEBLOWER.—The term ‘whistleblower’ means any 
employee or contractor of a motor vehicle manufacturer, part 
supplier, or dealership who voluntarily provides to the Sec-
retary original information relating to any motor vehicle defect, 
noncompliance, or any violation or alleged violation of any 
notification or reporting requirement of this chapter, which 
is likely to cause unreasonable risk of death or serious physical 
injury. 
‘‘(b) AWARDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the original information that a whistle-
blower provided to the Secretary leads to the successful resolu-
tion of a covered action, the Secretary, subject to subsection 
(c), may pay an award or awards to one or more whistleblowers 
in an aggregate amount of— 
‘‘(A) not less than 10 percent, in total, of collected 
monetary sanctions; and 
‘‘(B) not more than 30 percent, in total, of collected 
monetary sanctions. 
‘‘(2) PAYMENT
OF
AWARDS.—Any amount payable under 
paragraph (1) shall be paid from the monetary sanctions col-
lected, and any monetary sanctions so collected shall be avail-
able for such payment. 
‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF AWARDS; DENIAL OF AWARDS.— 
‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF AWARDS.— 
‘‘(A) DISCRETION.—The determination of whether, to 
whom, or in what amount to make an award shall be 
in the discretion of the Secretary subject to the provisions 
in subsection (b)(1). 
‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—In determining an award made under 
subsection (b), the Secretary shall take into consideration— 
‘‘(i) if appropriate, whether a whistleblower 
reported or attempted to report the information 
internally to an applicable motor vehicle manufacturer, 
part supplier, or dealership; 
‘‘(ii) the significance of the original information 
provided by the whistleblower to the successful resolu-
tion of the covered action;
H. R. 22—407 
‘‘(iii) the degree of assistance provided by the 
whistleblower and any legal representative of the 
whistleblower in the covered action; and 
‘‘(iv) such additional factors as the Secretary con-
siders relevant. 
‘‘(2) DENIAL OF AWARDS.—No award under subsection (b) 
shall be made— 
‘‘(A) to any whistleblower who is convicted of a criminal 
violation related to the covered action for which the whistle-
blower otherwise could receive an award under this section; 
‘‘(B) to any whistleblower who, acting without direction 
from an applicable motor vehicle manufacturer, part sup-
plier, or dealership, or agent thereof, deliberately causes 
or substantially contributes to the alleged violation of a 
requirement of this chapter; 
‘‘(C) to any whistleblower who submits information 
to the Secretary that is based on the facts underlying 
the covered action submitted previously by another whistle-
blower; 
‘‘(D) to any whistleblower who fails to provide the 
original information to the Secretary in such form as the 
Secretary may require by regulation; or 
‘‘(E) if the applicable motor vehicle manufacturer, parts 
supplier, or dealership has an internal reporting mecha-
nism in place to protect employees from retaliation, to 
any whistleblower who fails to report or attempt to report 
the information internally through such mechanism, 
unless— 
‘‘(i) the whistleblower reasonably believed that 
such an internal report would have resulted in retalia-
tion, notwithstanding section 30171(a); 
‘‘(ii) the whistleblower reasonably believed that the 
information— 
‘‘(I) was already internally reported; 
‘‘(II) was already subject to or part of an 
internal inquiry or investigation; or 
‘‘(III) was otherwise already known to the 
motor vehicle manufacturer, part supplier, or 
dealership; or 
‘‘(iii) the Secretary has good cause to waive this 
requirement. 
‘‘(d) REPRESENTATION.—A whistleblower may be represented 
by counsel. 
‘‘(e) NO CONTRACT NECESSARY.—No contract with the Secretary 
is necessary for any whistleblower to receive an award under sub-
section (b). 
‘‘(f) PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS; CONFIDENTIALITY.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 30167, and 
except as provided in paragraphs (4) and (5) of this subsection, 
the Secretary, and any officer or employee of the Department 
of Transportation, shall not disclose any information, including 
information provided by a whistleblower to the Secretary, which 
could reasonably be expected to reveal the identity of a whistle-
blower, except in accordance with the provisions of section 
552a of title 5, unless— 
‘‘(A) required to be disclosed to a defendant or 
respondent in connection with a public proceeding
H. R. 22—408 
instituted by the Secretary or any entity described in para-
graph (5); 
‘‘(B) the whistleblower provides prior written consent 
for the information to be disclosed; or 
‘‘(C) the Secretary, or other officer or employee of the 
Department of Transportation, receives the information 
through another source, such as during an inspection or 
investigation under section 30166, and has authority under 
other law to release the information. 
‘‘(2) REDACTION.—The Secretary, and any officer or 
employee of the Department of Transportation, shall take 
reasonable measures to not reveal the identity of the whistle-
blower when disclosing any information under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) SECTION 552(B)(3)(B).—For purposes of section 552 of 
title 5, paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be considered 
a statute described in subsection (b)(3)(B) of that section. 
‘‘(4) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection is intended to 
limit the ability of the Attorney General to present such evi-
dence to a grand jury or to share such evidence with potential 
witnesses or defendants in the course of an ongoing criminal 
investigation. 
‘‘(5) AVAILABILITY TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Without the loss of its status as 
confidential in the hands of the Secretary, all information 
referred to in paragraph (1) may, in the discretion of the 
Secretary, when determined by the Secretary to be nec-
essary or appropriate to accomplish the purposes of this 
chapter and in accordance with subparagraph (B), be made 
available to the following: 
‘‘(i) The Department of Justice. 
‘‘(ii) An appropriate department or agency of the 
Federal Government, acting within the scope of its 
jurisdiction. 
‘‘(B) MAINTENANCE
OF
INFORMATION.—Each entity 
described in subparagraph (A) shall maintain information 
described in that subparagraph as confidential, in accord-
ance with the requirements in paragraph (1). 
‘‘(g) PROVISION OF FALSE INFORMATION.—A whistleblower who 
knowingly and intentionally makes any false, fictitious, or fraudu-
lent statement or representation, or who makes or uses any false 
writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, ficti-
tious, or fraudulent statement or entry, shall not be entitled to 
an award under this section and shall be subject to prosecution 
under section 1001 of title 18. 
‘‘(h) APPEALS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any determination made under this sec-
tion, including whether, to whom, or in what amount to make 
an award, shall be in the discretion of the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) APPEALS.—Any determination made by the Secretary 
under this section may be appealed by a whistleblower to 
the appropriate court of appeals of the United States not later 
than 30 days after the determination is issued by the Secretary. 
‘‘(3) REVIEW.—The court shall review the determination 
made by the Secretary in accordance with section 706 of title 
5.