[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 177 (Wednesday, November 6, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6427-S6428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Whistleblowers

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, before I get into the substance of my 
remarks on a very serious subject, I want to thank my dear friend from 
Kansas for his nice words about Johnny Isakson.
  There is no word short of ``beloved'' that you would affix before 
Johnny Isakson's name in terms of this Chamber, and I think that would 
probably be true for every single Member--certainly the Senator from 
Kansas and certainly the Senator from New York.
  On July 30, 1778, the Continental Congress passed unanimously the 
following resolution: ``Resolved, that it is the duty of all persons in 
the service of the United States . . . to give the earliest information 
to Congress or other proper authority of any misconduct, frauds or 
misdemeanors committed by any officers or persons in the service of 
these states.''
  That was in the Continental Congress before our Nation was even 
formed--a duty of citizens to protect the American people from those in 
government who might conduct misconduct, fraud, or misdemeanors.
  From the earliest days of our Republic, our government has 
acknowledged the vital role that whistleblowers play in ensuring good 
governance and rooting out corruption, malfeasance, and self-dealing.
  Two nights ago, appallingly, at a political rally, President Trump 
and a Member of this Chamber, the junior Senator from Kentucky, 
publicly and explicitly urged the press to disclose the identity of the 
Federal whistleblower whose complaint triggered an impeachment inquiry 
in the House of Representatives.
  A few days later, the same junior Senator threatened to reveal the 
identity of the whistleblower himself.
  I cannot stress enough how wrong and dangerous--dangerous--these 
efforts are.

[[Page S6428]]

  The United States is a nation of laws. Whistleblower laws have 
existed since the founding of our Republic to protect patriotic 
Americans who come forward and stand up for our Constitution. We don't 
get to determine when these laws apply and when they don't. We don't 
get to decide if the law applies whether you like what the 
whistleblower said or whether you don't. These are laws. No person--no 
person--is above the law.
  This whistleblower, whose complaint was deemed credible and urgent by 
a Trump appointee, is protected by these statutes. There is no legal 
doubt about that. Every single Member of this body--every single one--
should stand up and say that it is wrong to disclose his or her 
identity. That is what my colleague Senator Hirono will ask us to do in 
a moment.
  Before she does, I want to thank my colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle who have spoken up in defense of whistleblower protections. 
Some of my Republican colleagues have spent their careers defending 
whistleblowers. We need them today. We need these Republican 
colleagues, who should be here standing up for the protection of 
whistleblowers.
  The threats we have seen over the last few days are so egregious--so 
egregious--that they demand bipartisan outrage from one end of this 
Chamber to the other, whether you are a Democrat, Republican, 
Independent, liberal, moderate, or conservative.
  What is happening here is another erosion of the values of this 
Republic for political expediency. Exposing the whistleblower's 
identity would endanger their health and safety and that of their 
families. It would also be a chilling message to future patriots that 
they do their duty to report wrongdoing at the risk of exposure, 
retaliation, and retribution.
  Why don't we see a single other Republican stand up in favor of this 
today? We should.
  Let's send a message today that the Senate reaffirms our Nation's 
longstanding tradition of defending whistleblowers. I urge every single 
Member of the Senate to support it, and I recognize somebody who has 
been valiant in this fight to protect the duty enshrined by the 
Continental Congress and the Constitution, my good friend, the Senator 
from Hawaii.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii.