Sec. 4. Wildlife trafficking whistleblowers

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In coordination with other Federal agencies as appropriate, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney General shall within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act develop a plan of action to fully implement existing authorities for rewards to whistleblowers of violations of anti-wildlife-trafficking laws. Such plan of action shall— include a strategy to raise public awareness in the United States and abroad for reward opportunities for whistleblowers provided under— section 6(d) of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 ( 16 U.S.C. 3375(d) ); section 11(d) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1540(d) ); section 106(c) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 ( 16 U.S.C. 1376(c) ); section 3 of the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 ( 16 U.S.C. 742l ); section 7(f) of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994 ( 16 U.S.C. 5305a(f) ); and other applicable anti-wildlife-trafficking laws; delineate short-term and long-term goals for increasing anti-wildlife-trafficking enforcement including recruitment of whistleblowers, as appropriate; describe specific actions to be taken to achieve such goals and the means necessary to do so, including— formal partnerships with nongovernmental organizations; and the establishment of Whistleblower Offices to coordinate the receipt of whistleblower disclosures, ensure referrals to the appropriate law enforcement offices, and communicate with whistleblowers regarding the status of their respective cases and potential rewards; be published on the internet website of the Federal Register for public comment for no fewer than 60 days; and be finalized within 90 days after the end of the public comment period and made readily available on a public Government internet website.

(a)at least every 5 years and update it, as appropriate, following public notice and comment. If any of the Secretaries referred to in subsection (b), or the Attorney General, proceeds with any administrative or judicial action under any of the laws referred to in subsection

(a)based on information brought to the Secretary’s or the Attorney General’s attention by a person qualified to receive an award under this subsection, such Secretary or the Attorney General, respectively, shall pay such person an award, subject to paragraph (2), in an amount that is at least 15 percent but not more than 50 percent of the amounts received by the United States as penalties, interest, fines, forfeitures, community service payments, restitution payments, and additional amounts in such action (including any related civil or criminal actions) or any under settlement or plea agreement in response to such action. The Secretary or the Attorney General, as applicable, shall determine the amount of such award based on the extent to which the person substantially contributed to such action. The amount of the award shall be determined within 90 days after the date of the applicable plea agreement, judgment, or settlement or plea agreement in such action, and shall be paid from the amounts so received by the United States. If the Secretary or Attorney General determines that the claim for an award under paragraph

(1)is brought by a person who planned and initiated the actions that led to the violation, then the Secretary or Attorney General may appropriately reduce such award. If such person is convicted of criminal conduct arising from the role described in the preceding sentence, the Secretary or Attorney General shall deny any award. Any determination regarding an award under paragraph

(1)may, within 30 days after the date of such determination, be appealed to the appropriate United States Court of Appeals pursuant to section 706 of title 5, United States Code. The Secretaries and the Attorney General shall permit the submission of confidential and anonymous reports under this section consistent with the procedures set forth in subsections (d)(2) and

(h)of section 21F of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C. 78u–6(d)(2) and (h)). The procedures set forth in paragraph

(1)shall be applicable only in a case in which the total sanction from all penalties, fines, community service payments, restitution, interest, forfeitures, or civil or criminal recoveries (including in related actions) exceeds $100,000. The Secretaries and the Attorney General shall each year conduct a study and report to Congress on the use of authorities, claims filed, awards paid, and outreach conducted under this section. Such report requirement may be satisfied by incorporating such report into the plan of action required under subsection

(a)and updates under subsection (b). This section shall apply only with respect to amounts received by the United States referred to in paragraph

(1)on or after the date of the enactment of this section.

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