H.R. 7412: Put America on Commission Act of 2026

This bill, titled the "Put America on Commission Act of 2026," aims to amend the Small Business Act by establishing an Office of Whistleblower Awards. The office will be responsible for handling awards for individuals (whistleblowers) who provide original information related to financial misconduct or fraudulent activities concerning recipients of financial aid from the Small Business Administration (SBA), particularly in relation to COVID-19 loans. Below is a summary of the key components of the bill:

Establishment of the Office of Whistleblower Awards

The bill will create the Office of Whistleblower Awards within the SBA. This office will be managed by a competitive civil service employee.

Whistleblower Awards

The head of the new office will:

• Review information submitted by whistleblowers to determine if it qualifies as "original information" regarding financial misconduct involving entities that received financial assistance from the SBA.
• Pay awards from a designated fund for valuable original information that leads to a conviction or settlement in cases involving COVID-related loan frauds.

Award Amounts

Whistleblowers may receive the following percentages of collected amounts based on certain criteria:

• 10% if the convicted entity is a U.S. national or located in the U.S.
• 15% if the entity is foreign.

Handling Multiple Whistleblowers

If multiple whistleblowers provide information that leads to a conviction or agreement, only the one who made the most significant contribution to the relevant action will receive an award.

Conditions and Requirements

The legislation includes several provisions:

• If a whistleblower is found to have participated in the misconduct, their award may be reduced or denied.
• Whistleblowers must repay any awarded amounts if they are later found guilty of a related crime.
• Whistleblowers do not have to sign a contract to be eligible for awards.
• Payments to whistleblowers must be disbursed within one year of a conviction or settlement.
• Whistleblowers will receive updates on the status of their submitted information and may seek legal relief if they face discrimination for being a whistleblower.

Whistleblower Award Fund

A revolving fund known as the Whistleblower Award Fund will be established to manage the payments for awards and other operational expenses of the office. The fund will receive payments from collected penalties related to COVID loan fraud actions.

Civil Monetary Penalties

Anyone convicted of fraud related to COVID loans will face additional civil penalties. Specifically, a 30% penalty will be levied on the total principal amount of the fraudulent loans.

Reporting Requirements

The SBA Administrator will be required to submit annual reports on whistleblowing activity, including the number of original information submissions and the associated award amounts.

Expiration of Authority

The provisions of this bill will remain effective until the resolution of all COVID loan actions filed within a specific timeframe.

Definitions

The bill provides clarifications on key terms:

• COVID loan action: Refers to legal actions related to COVID loan fraud.
• Final conviction: Means the conviction is not subject to appeal.
• Whistleblower: An individual who reports financial misconduct related to entities receiving financial aid from the SBA.

Rulemaking Requirements

The bill requires the SBA Administrator to create rules to implement the provisions of the whistleblower awards within six months of enactment.

Relevant Companies

• None found