S 1473Stop Stealing our Chips Act

Latest change summary

+1317 / −1208 words · LargeConfidence: high

This revision significantly scales back the whistleblower protections and program scope in the Stop Stealing our Chips Act. The changes narrow eligibility by eliminating award exceptions for compliance officers and auditors who make urgent disclosures or wait extended periods before reporting externally, and remove all anti-retaliation protections including remedies for wrongful termination. The whistleblower program itself is restructured to reward only information leading to fines (not forfeitures), with faster investigation timelines (180 days) and more frequent notifications (every 30 days), while the reporting portal's scope is limited to violations by persons rather than items. The Export Compliance Accountability Fund framework is streamlined by removing exceptions for certain fund deposits and eliminating portal maintenance from funded activities, though a new provision allows the Bureau of Industry and Security to use existing funds during the startup phase. The bill also removes one finding regarding AI chip diversion threats and narrows whistleblower exclusions to apply only to specially designated nationals rather than three separate lists.