I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6322 
To amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to establish a whistleblower 
incentive program and provide protections to whistleblowers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 28, 2025 
Mr. KEAN (for himself and Ms. JOHNSON of Texas) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to estab-
lish a whistleblower incentive program and provide pro-
tections to whistleblowers. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Stealing our 
Chips Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Violations of the export control laws of the 
United States, especially the diversion of leading- 
edge artificial intelligence chips into countries that 
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are adversaries of the United States, threaten the 
national security of the United States. 
(2) Individuals who accurately report violations 
of United States export control laws play a signifi-
cant role in helping authorities identify and mitigate 
such threats. 
(3) An incentive program that rewards whistle-
blowers can significantly enhance enforcement ef-
forts by encouraging individuals to provide high- 
value information on potential violations across all 
sectors. 
(4) Such a program may also encourage strong-
er self-policing and internal compliance by firms, 
preventing violations before they occur. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF WHISTLEBLOWER INCENTIVE 
PROGRAM AND WHISTLEBLOWER PROTEC-
TIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Export Control Reform Act 
of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801 et seq.) is amended by inserting 
after section 1761 the following: 
‘‘SEC. 1761A. WHISTLEBLOWER INCENTIVES AND PROTEC-
TIONS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) 
ORIGINAL
INFORMATION.—The 
term 
‘original information’ means information that is— 
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‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘whistle-
blower’ does not include— 
‘‘(i) a Federal employee acting within 
the scope of the duties of the employee; or 
‘‘(ii) an individual on any of the fol-
lowing lists: 
‘‘(I) The list of specially des-
ignated nationals and blocked persons 
maintained by the Office of Foreign 
Assets Control of the Department of 
the Treasury; 
‘‘(II) The Denied Persons List 
maintained 
pursuant 
to 
section 
764.3(a)(2) of the Export Administra-
tion Regulations; or 
‘‘(III) The Entity List under 
Supplement No. 4 to part 744 of the 
Export Administration Regulations. 
‘‘(3) RELATED ACTION.—The term ‘related ac-
tion’, when used with respect to any judicial or ad-
ministrative action brought by the Department 
under the Export Administration Regulations, 
means any judicial or administrative action brought 
by a United States government entity that is based 
upon the original information provided by a whistle-
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blower pursuant to this section that led to a success-
ful export control enforcement action. 
‘‘(b) WHISTLEBLOWER INCENTIVE PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 120 
days after the date of the enactment of this section, 
the Secretary shall establish a whistleblower incen-
tive program to reward individuals who provide 
original information that leads to— 
‘‘(A) the imposition of fines under this 
part on persons that violate, attempt to violate, 
conspire to violate, or cause a violation of this 
part or any regulation, order, license, or other 
authorization issued under this part; or 
‘‘(B) the forfeiture of any property under 
section 1761(j) if such forfeiture results in net 
proceeds to the Export Compliance Account-
ability Fund. 
‘‘(2) WHISTLEBLOWER REPORTS.— 
‘‘(A) ONLINE
PORTAL.—Not later than 
120 days after the date of the enactment of this 
section, the Secretary shall establish and main-
tain a secure portal, or update and maintain an 
existing secure portal, on a website accessible to 
the public, for the reporting of original informa-
tion relating to— 
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‘‘(i) persons that violate, attempt to 
violate, conspire to violate, or cause a vio-
lation of this part or any regulation, order, 
license, or other authorization issued under 
this part; and 
‘‘(ii) items that have been, are being, 
or are about to be exported, reexported, or 
in-country transferred in violation of this 
part or any regulation, order, license, or 
other authorization issued under this part. 
‘‘(B) ANONYMITY.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—As an alternative 
to submission through the portal required 
by subparagraph (A), an individual may 
submit a report of original information 
under this subsection anonymously, includ-
ing through an attorney. 
‘‘(ii) 
EXCEPTION.—The 
Secretary 
may require that the identity of an indi-
vidual be disclosed for the individual to re-
ceive an award under paragraph (3). 
‘‘(C) EXPEDITED REVIEW.— 
‘‘(i) INITIAL REVIEW.—Not later than 
60 days after the date of receipt of a re-
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port from a whistleblower, the Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(I) determine whether the re-
port is credible; and 
‘‘(II) if credible, initiate a formal 
investigation of the allegations con-
tained in the report. 
‘‘(ii) INVESTIGATION.—The Secretary 
shall pursue any formal investigation 
under clause (i)(II) with urgency and con-
clude the investigation within a reasonable 
amount of time. 
‘‘(iii) NOTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to 
the confidentiality requirements of 
section 1761(h), the Secretary shall 
update the whistleblower on the status 
of a report and, if applicable, the re-
lated investigation not later than 60 
days after the date on which the whis-
tleblower submitted the report and 
not less frequently than every 180 
days thereafter. 
‘‘(II) 
SENSITIVE
INFORMA-
TION.—The Secretary may omit from 
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the updates required by subclause (I) 
any information that could com-
promise an ongoing investigation. 
‘‘(D) AVOIDANCE
OF
FRIVOLOUS
RE-
PORTS.—The Secretary may prohibit an indi-
vidual from making reports under this sub-
section if the individual has previously sub-
mitted multiple reports under this subsection 
that the Secretary determined under subpara-
graph (C)(i) were not credible. 
‘‘(3) AWARDS.— 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the Secretary shall pay an award or 
awards to any whistleblower who provided origi-
nal information that led to the imposition of a 
fine greater than $1,000,000 under this part on 
a person or persons that violated, attempted to 
violate, conspired to violate, or caused a viola-
tion of this part or any regulation, order, li-
cense, or other authorization issued under this 
part or a related action, including when the un-
derlying violation occurred before the date of 
the enactment of this section, so long as the 
whistleblower’s report is submitted after such 
date of enactment. 
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‘‘(B) DISQUALIFICATION.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 
(ii), the Secretary may not pay an award 
or awards to any whistleblower who pro-
vides original information with respect to a 
person or persons that violated, attempted 
to violate, conspired to violate, or caused a 
violation of this part or any regulation, 
order, license, or other authorization issued 
under this part, if such information was 
obtained through— 
‘‘(I) the role of the whistleblower 
as— 
‘‘(aa) an officer, director, 
trustee, or partner of an entity 
that handles internal processes 
for legal violations for the person 
or persons; 
‘‘(bb) an employee of an en-
tity that conducts compliance or 
internal audits for the person or 
persons; or 
‘‘(cc) an employee of a pub-
lic accounting firm if the infor-
mation was obtained while work-
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ing on an engagement required 
by Federal law; or 
‘‘(II) any means that violates 
Federal or State criminal law. 
‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—Clause (i) shall 
not apply if— 
‘‘(I) the whistleblower had a rea-
sonable basis to believe that disclosing 
the original information to the Sec-
retary was necessary to stop conduct 
likely to cause significant financial 
harm; 
‘‘(II) the whistleblower had a rea-
sonable basis to believe that the rel-
evant entity was obstructing an inves-
tigation into the misconduct; or 
‘‘(III) not less than 120 days 
have elapsed since the whistleblower 
provided the information to the audit 
committee, chief legal officer, chief 
compliance officer (or their equiva-
lent) of the relevant entity or the su-
pervisor of the whistleblower. 
‘‘(C) AMOUNT.— 
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‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The sum total of 
the awards issued for a particular action 
under subparagraph (A) shall be— 
‘‘(I) not less than 10 percent, in 
total, of the amount collected of the 
fine imposed under this part; and 
‘‘(II) not more than 30 percent, 
in total, of the amount collected of 
that fine. 
‘‘(ii) JOINTLY SUBMITTED REPORT.— 
In the case of a report that was submitted 
jointly by 2 or more individuals, or sepa-
rate reports related to the same action, 
any award issued under subparagraph (A) 
shall be split among the individuals at the 
Secretary’s discretion. 
‘‘(D) 
DETERMINATION.—The 
Secretary 
shall determine the amount of an award made 
under subparagraph (A) taking into account, 
with respect to the information provided— 
‘‘(i) accuracy; 
‘‘(ii) relevance; 
‘‘(iii) timeliness; and 
‘‘(iv) usefulness. 
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‘‘(E) Awards for related actions shall be 
paid at the discretion of the Secretary. 
‘‘(4) PUBLICATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than the 
date on which the online portal required by 
paragraph (2)(A) is complete, the Secretary 
shall develop and implement a plan to publicize 
the whistleblower incentive program established 
by paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall pay 
any expenses incurred under subparagraph (A) 
from amounts authorized to be appropriated to 
the Bureau of Industry and Security. 
‘‘(c) PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION AGAINST IMPENDING COM-
MUNICATION AND RETALIATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), no employer may— 
‘‘(i) impede or attempt to impede an 
individual from communicating directly 
with the Department of Commerce regard-
ing a possible violation of export control or 
related laws; or 
‘‘(ii) 
discharge, 
demote, 
suspend, 
threaten, harass, directly or indirectly, or 
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in any other manner discriminate against a 
whistleblower in the terms and conditions 
of employment because of a lawful act 
done by the whistleblower— 
‘‘(I) in reporting violations to the 
employer or to a law enforcement 
agency; 
‘‘(II) in providing information to 
the Secretary in accordance with this 
section; or 
‘‘(III) in initiating, testifying in, 
or assisting in any investigation or ju-
dicial or administrative action based 
upon or related to such information. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The protection against 
retaliation established by subparagraph (A) 
shall not apply to any individual who reports in-
formation under this section knowing that such 
information is false. 
‘‘(C) ENFORCEMENT.— 
‘‘(i) CAUSE
OF
ACTION.—An indi-
vidual who alleges discharge or other dis-
crimination in violation of subparagraph 
(A) may bring an action under this para-
graph in the appropriate district court of 
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the United States for the relief provided in 
subparagraph (D). 
‘‘(ii) SUBPOENAS.—A subpoena re-
quiring the attendance of a witness at a 
trial or hearing conducted under this sub-
paragraph may be served at any place in 
the United States. 
‘‘(iii) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—An action 
under this subparagraph shall not be 
entertained 
if 
commenced 
more 
than— 
‘‘(aa) 6 years after the date 
of the violation of subparagraph 
(A) occurred; or 
‘‘(bb) 3 years after the date 
when facts material to the right 
of action are known or reason-
ably should have been known by 
the employee alleging a violation 
of subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(II) REQUIRED ACTION WITHIN 
YEARS.—Notwithstanding 
sub-
clause (I), an action under this sub-
paragraph may not in any cir-
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cumstance be brought more than 10 
years after the date on which the vio-
lation occurs. 
‘‘(D) RELIEF.—Relief for an individual 
prevailing in an action brought under subpara-
graph (C) shall include— 
‘‘(i) reinstatement with the same se-
niority status that the individual would 
have had, but for the discrimination; 
‘‘(ii) 2 times the amount of back pay 
otherwise owed to the individual, with in-
terest; and 
‘‘(iii) 
compensation 
for 
litigation 
costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable 
attorneys’ fees. 
‘‘(E) SCOPE OF PROTECTION.—The protec-
tions under this subsection shall apply to any 
individual who engages in an act described in 
subparagraph (A), including reporting a poten-
tial violation internally to an employer or to a 
law enforcement agency, regardless of whether 
the individual has, at the time of the alleged re-
taliation, provided information to the Secretary 
under this section. Such protections shall also 
apply if the retaliation occurs before, or in the 
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absence of, a formal report to the Department 
of Commerce. 
‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Secretary and 
any officer or employee of the Department of 
Commerce shall not disclose any information, 
including information provided by a whistle-
blower to the Secretary, that could reasonably 
be expected to reveal the identity of the whistle-
blower, except in accordance with the provisions 
of section 552a of title 5, United States Code, 
unless and until required to be disclosed to a 
defendant or respondent in connection with a 
public proceeding instituted by the Secretary or 
any entity described in subparagraph (D). 
‘‘(B) EXEMPTED STATUTE.—For purposes 
of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 
this paragraph shall be considered a statute de-
scribed in subsection (b)(3)(B) of such section. 
‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 
in this section is intended to limit, or shall be 
construed to limit, the ability of the Attorney 
General to present such evidence to a grand 
jury or to share such evidence with potential 
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witnesses or defendants in the course of an on-
going criminal investigation. 
‘‘(D) 
AVAILABILITY
TO
GOVERNMENT 
AGENCIES.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Without the loss 
of its status as confidential in the hands of 
the Secretary, all information referred to 
in subparagraph (A) may, in the discretion 
of the Secretary, when determined by the 
Secretary to be necessary to accomplish 
the purposes of this part or any regulation, 
order, license, or other authorization issued 
under this part, be made available to— 
‘‘(I) a Federal law enforcement 
agency; 
‘‘(II) a national security agency; 
‘‘(III) an appropriate Federal or 
State regulatory authority or Federal 
investigative agency; and 
‘‘(IV) a foreign law enforcement 
authority. 
‘‘(ii) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Each of the 
entities described in subclauses (I) 
through (III) of clause (i) shall main-
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tain such information as confidential 
in accordance with the requirements 
established under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(II) FOREIGN
AUTHORITIES.— 
Each of the entities described in 
clause (i)(IV) shall maintain such in-
formation in accordance with such as-
surances of confidentiality as the Sec-
retary determines appropriate. 
‘‘(d) 
EXPORT
COMPLIANCE
ACCOUNTABILITY 
FUND.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this section, there 
shall be established in the Treasury of the United 
States a fund to be known as the ‘Export Compli-
ance Accountability Fund’ (in this subsection re-
ferred to as the ‘Fund’). 
‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—At the end of each fiscal 
year, any amounts deposited into the Fund under 
paragraph (3) that remain in the Fund after the 
payment, for that fiscal year, of all expenses under 
paragraph (3) shall be transferred to the general 
fund of the Treasury. The Fund shall retain an 
amount equivalent to $100,000,000 (adjusted for in-
flation) or the total amount necessary to satisfy any 
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pending whistleblower award determinations, which-
ever is greater. 
‘‘(3) USE OF FUND.—The Fund shall be avail-
able to the Secretary, without further appropriation 
or fiscal year limitation, for— 
‘‘(A) paying awards to whistleblowers as 
provided in subsection (b)(3); 
‘‘(B) funding activities that support the 
whistleblower incentive program and whistle-
blower protections, including— 
‘‘(i) reviewing and investigating whis-
tleblower reports; 
‘‘(ii) providing training and education 
on compliance with the confidentiality re-
quirement under subsection (c)(2); and 
‘‘(iii) record keeping, IT expenses, and 
other expenses to maintain or update the 
portal as considered necessary by the Sec-
retary; and 
‘‘(C) if all outstanding awards under sub-
section (b)(3) have been paid, expenses related 
to enforcement of this part or any regulation, 
order, license, or other authorization issued 
under this part. 
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‘‘(4) DEPOSITS AND CREDITS.—There shall be 
deposited into or credited to the Fund an amount 
equal to any fine collected by the Secretary on or 
after the date of the enactment of this section in any 
judicial or administrative action brought by the Sec-
retary that depends on or was initiated because of 
original information submitted by a whistleblower.’’. 
SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this 
Act, may be construed to affect, reduce, or divert any 
amounts required by law to be deposited into the Crime 
Victims Fund (34 U.S.C. 20101) or the U.S. Victims of 
State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (34 U.S.C. 20144). 
Æ 
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