otherwise could receive an award under 
this section; 
‘‘(iii) to any whistleblower who gains 
the information through the performance 
of an audit of financial statements re-
quired under the securities laws and for 
whom such submission would be contrary 
to the requirements of section 10A of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 
U.S.C. 78j–1); and 
‘‘(iv) to any whistleblower who fails to 
submit information to the Board in such 
form as the Board may, by rule, require. 
‘‘(4) REPRESENTATION.— 
‘‘(A) PERMITTED REPRESENTATION.—Any 
whistleblower who makes a claim for an award 
under paragraph (2) may be represented by 
counsel. 
‘‘(B) REQUIRED REPRESENTATION.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any whistleblower 
who anonymously makes a claim for an 
award under paragraph (2) shall be rep-
resented by counsel if the whistleblower 
anonymously submits the information upon 
which the claim is based.
‘‘(ii) DISCLOSURE
OF
IDENTITY.— 
Prior to the payment of an award, a whis-
tleblower shall disclose the identity of the 
whistleblower and provide such other infor-
mation as the Board may require, directly 
or through counsel, for the whistleblower. 
‘‘(5) NO CONTRACT NECESSARY.—No contract 
with the Board is necessary for any whistleblower to 
receive an award under paragraph (2), unless other-
wise required by the Board by rule. 
‘‘(6) APPEALS.—Any determination made under 
this subsection, including whether, to whom, or in 
what amount to make awards, shall be in the discre-
tion of the Board. Any such determination, except 
the determination of the amount of an award if the 
award was made in accordance with this paragraph, 
may be appealed to the Commission not more than 
30 days after the determination is issued by the 
Board. The Commission shall review the determina-
tion made by the Board in accordance with section 
107(c). 
‘‘(7) PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 
‘‘(A) 
PROHIBITION
AGAINST
RETALIA-
TION.—No employer may discharge, demote, 
suspend, threaten, harass, directly or indirectly,
or in any other manner discriminate against, a 
whistleblower in the terms and conditions of 
employment because of any lawful act done by 
the whistleblower— 
‘‘(i) in providing information to the 
Board in accordance with this subsection; 
‘‘(ii) in initiating, testifying in, or as-
sisting in any investigation or judicial or 
administrative action of the Board based 
upon or related to such information; or 
‘‘(iii) in making disclosures that are 
required or protected under the Sarbanes- 
Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 7201 et 
seq.), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.), including section 
10A(m) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 78f(m)), 
section 1513(e) of title 18, United States 
Code, and any other law, rule, or regula-
tion subject to the jurisdiction of the Secu-
rities Exchange Commission. 
‘‘(iv) in providing information regard-
ing any conduct that the whistleblower rea-
sonably believes constitutes a potential vio-
lation of any law, rule, or regulation sub-
ject to the jurisdiction of the Board or the
Commission (including disclosures that are 
required or protected under the Sarbanes- 
Oxley Act of 2002 or the Securities Ex-
change Act of 1934) to— 
‘‘(I) a person with supervisory 
authority over the whistleblower at the 
whistleblower’s employer, where such 
employer is an entity registered with 
or required to be registered with the 
Board, the Commission, a self-regu-
latory organization, or a State securi-
ties commission or office performing 
like functions; or 
‘‘(II) such other person working 
for the employer described under sub-
clause (I) who has the authority to in-
vestigate, discover, or terminate mis-
conduct. 
‘‘(B) ENFORCEMENT
OF
PROHIBITION 
AGAINST RETALIATION.— 
‘‘(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
the United States for the relief provided in 
subparagraph (C). 
‘‘(ii) SUBPOENAS.—A subpoena re-
quiring the attendance of a witness at a 
trial or hearing conducted under this sub-
section may be served at any place in the 
United States. 
‘‘(iii) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—An action 
under this paragraph may not be 
brought— 
‘‘(aa) more than 6 years 
after the date on which the viola-
tion of subparagraph (A) oc-
curred; or 
‘‘(bb) more than 3 years 
after the date when facts mate-
rial to the right of action are 
known or reasonably should have 
been known by the employee al-
leging a violation of subpara-
graph (A). 
‘‘(II) REQUIRED ACTION WITHIN 
YEARS.—Notwithstanding 
sub-
clause (I), an action under this para-
‘‘(bb) an appropriate regu-
latory authority; 
‘‘(cc) a self-regulatory orga-
nization; 
‘‘(dd) a State attorney gen-
eral in connection with any crimi-
nal investigation; 
‘‘(ee) any appropriate State 
regulatory authority; 
‘‘(ff) the Commission; 
‘‘(gg) a foreign securities 
authority; and 
‘‘(hh) a foreign law enforce-
ment authority. 
‘‘(II) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 
‘‘(aa) IN
GENERAL.—Each 
of the entities described in items 
(aa) through (ff) of subclause (I) 
shall maintain such information 
as confidential in accordance with 
the 
requirements 
established 
under clause (i). 
‘‘(bb) FOREIGN
AUTHORI-
TIES.— Each of the entities de-
scribed in subclauses (gg) and
(hh) of subclause (I) shall main-
tain such information in accord-
ance with such assurances of con-
fidentiality as the Board deter-
mines appropriate. 
‘‘(E) RIGHTS RETAINED.—Nothing in this 
subsection shall be deemed to diminish the 
rights, privileges, or remedies of any whistle-
blower under any Federal or State law, or 
under any collective bargaining agreement. 
‘‘(8) PROVISION OF FALSE INFORMATION.—A 
whistleblower shall not be entitled to an award under 
this section if the whistleblower— 
‘‘(A) knowingly and willfully makes any 
false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or rep-
resentation; or 
‘‘(B) uses any false writing or document 
knowing the writing or document contains any 
false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or 
entry. 
‘‘(9) RULEMAKING
AUTHORITY.—The Board 
shall have the authority to issue such rules and 
standards as may be necessary or appropriate to im-
plement the provisions of this section consistent with 
the purposes of this section.
‘‘(10) COORDINATION.—To the maximum ex-
tent practicable, the Board shall coordinate with the 
Office of the Whistleblower of the Securities Ex-
change Commission in carrying out this sub-
section.’’; and 
(2) in section 109(c)(2) (15 U.S.C. 7219(c)(2), 
by striking ‘‘all funds collected’’ and inserting ‘‘at 
least 50 percent of funds collected’’. 
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 
shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 
titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 
Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 
by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro-
vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 
vote on passage. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 19, 
2019. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 3625 
AN ACT 
To establish a whistleblower program at the Public 
Company Accounting Oversight Board, and for 
other purposes.