,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #eafa ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #bi1 #bjbf,mr4 ,grassley 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,fetterman1 ,ms4 ,collins1 and ,mr4 ,warnock7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,commodity ,exchange ,act to adjust the period during which amounts transferred by the ,commodity ,futures ,trading ,commission to the account for customer education initiatives and non-awards expenses shall remain available1 to strengthen anti-retaliation protections for whistleblowers1 to ensure whistleblowers are informed of their rights1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,cftc ,whistleblower ,protection and ,program ,improvement ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,commodity ,futures ,trading ,commission customer protection fund modifications 7a7 ,separate account for education initiatives and administrative expenses ,section #bc7;g7 of the ,commodity ,exchange ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bf7;g77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#b77;,a71 by striking subsection 7a7 and inserting subsection 7b72 and 7#b7 in paragraph 7#c7-- 7,a7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by striking #ajj1jjj1jjj and inserting #cjj1jjj1jjj2 7,b7 in subparagraph 7,b71 by striking subparagraph 7,a7 and inserting clause 7i72 7,c7 by redesignating subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,c7 as clauses 7i7 through 7iii71 respectively1 and indenting the clauses appropriately2 7,d7 in the matter preceding clause 7i7 7as so redesignated71 by striking ,there shall be deposited into or credited to the ,fund3 and inserting the following3 7,a7 ,in general ,there shall be deposited in1 or credited to1 the ,fund the following3 2 and 7,e7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 ,separate account for education initiatives and administrative expenses 7i7 ,in general ,any amounts contained in1 deposited in1 or credited to the ,fund under subparagraph 7,a7 shall be first deposited in1 or credited to1 a separate account in the ,fund described in clause 7ii71 regardless of outstanding whistleblower awards1 unless the balance of that separate account at the time the amounts are deposited or credited exceeds #aj1jjj1jjj4 7ii7 ,use of separate account ,the separate account referred to in clause 7i7 shall be available to the ,commission1 without further appropriation or fiscal year limitation1 for-- 7,i7 the purpose described in subparagraph 7,b7 of paragraph 7#b72 and 7,,ii7 the funding of administrative and salary expenses necessary for personnel to carry out the activities described in subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b7 of that paragraph4 4 7b7 ,commodity ,futures ,trading ,commission whistleblower program ,section #a7;b7 of ,public ,law #aag-be 7#ace ,stat4 #big2 #acf ,stat4 #bacc2 #acf ,stat4 #bcji2 #acf ,stat4 #eihd2 #aci ,stat4 #df7 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#c71 by striking until and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting until expended42 and 7#b7 by striking paragraph 7#d74 7c7 ,definitions ,section #bc7;a7 of the ,commodity ,exchange ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bf7;a77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#c7-- 7,a7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by striking and at the end2 7,b7 in subparagraph 7,b71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 and2 and 7,c7 by adding at the end the following3 7,c7 any distribution made in a ,united ,states bankruptcy proceeding to the ,commission1 an injured investor1 or other defrauded person or entity as a result of information provided by #a or more whistleblowers4 2 and 7#b7 in paragraph 7#e7-- 7,a7 by striking means any judicial and inserting means any proceeding in a ,united ,states bankruptcy court brought by any party and any judicial2 7,b7 by striking subsection 7h77#b77;,c7 and inserting subsection 7h77#b77;,c77i72 and 7,c7 by striking subsection 7a7 and inserting subsection 7b74 #c4 ,strengthening protections for commodity whistleblowers ,section #bc of the ,commodity ,exchange ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bf7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a77#g7-- 7,a7 by striking ,the term and inserting the following3 7,a7 ,in general ,the term 2 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 ,special rule ,for purposes of subsection 7h71 the term whistleblower includes any individual who takes1 or any #b or more individuals1 acting jointly1 who take1 an action described in paragraph 7#a77;,a7 of that subsection4 2 7#b7 in subsection 7h77#a7-- 7,a7 by striking subparagraph 7,a7 and inserting the following3 7,a7 ,in general ,no employer may1 directly or indirectly1 discharge1 demote1 suspend1 threaten1 blacklist1 harass1 seek to deny any award1 or in any other manner discriminate against a whistleblower in the terms and conditions of employment or post-employment because of any lawful act done by the whistleblower-- 7i7 in providing information in writing or orally1 if the oral report is documented1 including information provided as part of the job duties of the whistleblower1 in accordance with this section to-- 7,i7 the ,commission or the ,attorney ,general2 7,,ii7 a ,federal1 ,state1 or local regulatory or law enforcement agency2 7,,iii7 any ,member of ,congress or any committee of ,congress2 or 7,,iv7 a person with supervisory authority over the whistleblower1 or such other person working for the employer who has the authority to investigate1 discover1 or terminate misconduct2 7ii7 in initiating1 testifying in1 or assisting in any investigation or judicial or administrative action of the ,commission or the ,department of ,justice based upon or related to the information described in clause 7i72 or 7iii7 in providing information1 in writing or orally1 if the oral report is documented1 regarding any conduct that the whistleblower reasonably believes constitutes a violation of any law1 rule1 or regulation subject to the jurisdiction of the ,commission1 or a violation of section #aief1 #aieg1 or #aifj of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code 7or any rule or regulation under any such provision71 to-- 7,i7 a person with supervisory authority over the whistleblower at the employer of the whistleblower2 or 7,,ii7 another individual working for the employer described in subclause 7,i7 who the whistleblower reasonably believes has the authority-- 7aa7 to investigate1 discover1 or terminate the misconduct2 or 7bb7 to take any other action to address the misconduct4 2 7,b7 in subparagraph 7,b77i7-- 7i7 by striking ,an individual and inserting the following3 7,i7 ,in general ,an individual 2 7ii7 in subclause 7,i7 7as so designated71 by striking 1 unless and all that follows through title #e1 ,united ,states ,code2 and 7iii7 by adding at the end the following3 7,,ii7 ,jury trial ,a person against whom an action is brought under this subsection shall be entitled to a jury trial4 7,,iii7 ,burden of proof ,all complaints under this subsection shall be governed by the legal burdens of proof set forth in section #abba7;e7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 2 and 7,c7 in subparagraph 7,c77ii71 by inserting #b times before the amount2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7o7 ,employee education on whistleblower rights 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #cfj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,commission shall publish in the ,federal ,register a final rule requiring each registered entity to provide education and training to employees of the registered entity on the rights of whistleblowers and remedies under this section1 including1 at a minimum1 through-- 7,a7 notice provided individually to each employee2 7,b7 posting information on the homepage of the website of the registered entity2 and 7,c7 mandatory training for each employee4 7#b7 ,procedure ,notwithstanding the exceptions described in the undesignated matter following subsection 7b77#d7 of section #eec of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 that section shall apply to the issuance of the rule under paragraph 7#a74 4 #d4 ,prompt payment of awards ,section #bc7;b7 of the ,commodity ,exchange ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bf7;b77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#c7 ,timely processing of claims 7,a7 ,definitions ,in this paragraph3 7i7 ,award claim ,the term award claim means a claim submitted by a whistleblower for an award under this section4 7ii7 ,director ,the term ,director means the ,director of the ,division of ,enforcement of the ,commission 7or a designee74 7,b7 ,preliminary determination 7i7 ,in general ,except as provided in subparagraph 7,c71 the ,commission shall make a preliminary determination with respect to an award claim not later than the later of-- 7,i7 the date that is #a year after the deadline established by the ,commission1 by rule1 for the whistleblower to file the award claim2 and 7,,ii7 the date that is #a year after the final resolution of all litigation1 including any appeals1 concerning the covered judicial or administrative action or related action4 7ii7 ,multiple related actions ,if an award claim involves #a or more related actions1 the requirement under clause 7i7 shall apply with respect to the latest deadline with respect to the involved actions4 7,c7 ,exceptions 7i7 ,initial extension ,if the ,director determines that an award claim is sufficiently complex or involves more than #a whistleblower1 or if other good cause exists such that the ,commission cannot reasonably satisfy the requirements under subparagraph 7,b71 as determined by the ,director1 the ,director1 after providing notice to the ,chairman of the ,commission1 may extend the deadline with respect to the satisfaction of those requirements by not more than #ahj days4 7ii7 ,additional extension ,if1 after providing an extension under clause 7i71 the ,director determines that good cause exists such that the ,commission cannot reasonably satisfy the requirement under subparagraph 7,b71 the ,director may extend the deadline described in clause 7i7 for #a additional successive #ahj-;day period only after providing notice to1 and receiving approval from1 the ,commission4 7iii7 ,notice to whistleblower required ,if the ,director exercises authority under clause 7i7 or 7ii71 the ,director shall submit to the whistleblower who filed the award claim that is subject to that exercise a written notification of the exercise4 7,d7 ,final order ,the ,commission shall issue a final order with respect to an award claim not later than #a year after the preliminary determination under subparagraph 7,b74 7,e7 ,applicability ,this paragraph shall apply only to an award claim that the ,director determines is timely submitted under a deadline established by the ,commission after the date of enactment of this paragraph4 4 #e4 ,technical corrections ,section #bc of the ,commodity ,exchange ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bf7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7c77#a77;,b77i77,,iii71 by striking the ,act each place it appears and inserting this ,act2 and 7#b7 in subsection 7f77#c71 by striking section #gjfd and inserting section #gjf4