Whistleblowers Launch Campaign to Make National Whistleblower Day Permanent

Today, a group of whistleblowers, led by Whistleblower Network News’ Jane Turner, launched a campaign calling on President Biden to sign an Executive Order permanently establishing July 30 as National Whistleblower Day. In an op-ed published in WNN, Turner, an FBI whistleblower, outlines the culture-shifting implications of an Executive Order that requires all federal agencies to recognize National Whistleblower Day.

“The time has come for a culture change, for President Biden to elevate whistleblowers to the status they deserve as people of integrity,” Turner writes. “It is time to support whistleblowers by making National Whistleblower Day permanent. The world needs to know the United States government stands behind whistleblowers, provides recognition, and honors their sacrifices.”

Enron whistleblower Sherron Watkins is another whistleblower leading the campaign. In a new podcast published by WNN, Watkins and Turner discuss why they feel it is important that Biden permanently designates National Whistleblower Day and the role such a move would have in shifting the culture around whistleblowing. They delve into their personal experiences blowing the whistle and explain how the whistleblower community is coming together in support of the campaign.

Each year since 2013, the U.S. Senate has unanimously passed a Resolution designating July 30 as National Whistleblower Day. The date commemorates the first whistleblower law in the history of the United States which was passed on July 30, 1778. In recent years, a growing number of federal agencies have celebrated National Whistleblower Day by informing employees of their whistleblower rights and by highlighting the critical role whistleblowers play in exposing fraud, corruption, and abuse of power.

The whistleblowers behind the campaign, Turner, Watkins, Frederic Whitehurst, Aaron Westrick and Bunny Greenhouse, have signed onto a petition urging President Biden to sign an Executive Order making National Whistleblower Day a permanent designation and requiring federal agencies to recognize the day. The whistleblowers are calling on whistleblower supporters to sign the petition.

Turner is available for interviews and for further comment on the campaign.

For more information visit: https://whistleblowersblog.org/make-national-whistleblower-day-permanent/

Contact Information

Ana Popovich

Reporter

Whistleblower Network News

ana.popovich@whistleblowernews.com