Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) introduced the CFTC Whistleblower Protection and Program Improvement Act of 2026, joined by cosponsors Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) on July 29, 2026. The bill would make permanent the CFTC Whistleblower Office’s operating account, raise the Customer Protection Fund cap from $100 million to $300 million, speed up award processing, and close a bankruptcy loophole that has blocked some whistleblowers from receiving awards.

Grassley helped create the CFTC Whistleblower Program in 2010. Since its first award in 2014, the program has paid out nearly $430 million to whistleblowers and led to more than $3.7 billion in monetary sanctions. But the fund supporting it is capped at $100 million, and rising award volume has been draining it faster than it can be replenished. A 2021 stopgap measure funding the office’s operations is set to expire in September, making this bill’s fixes time-sensitive.

“The CFTC Whistleblower Program is one of our most effective tools for exposing financial corruption and holding bad actors accountable, and its success has pushed its funding structure to the brink. This bipartisan legislation provides the long-term stability the Whistleblower Office urgently needs. This is a fantastic bipartisan effort to shore up funding to pay awards and improve the Whistleblower Program in ways that will protect whistleblowers and encourage them to come forward to report fraud,”  said TAF President and CEO, Jacklyn DeMar.