The United States Senate has unanimously passed a resolution designating July 30, 2020, as “National Whistleblower Appreciation Day.”

Longtime champion for whistleblowers, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), who serves as Chairman of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus, spearheaded the bipartisan Senate resolution.

The resolution was cosponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), John Boozman (R-AR), Gary Peters (D-MI), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Tom Carper (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), Ed Markey (D-MA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

This action marks the eighth year in a row the Senate has called upon federal agencies to recognize National Whistleblower Day and encourages each agency to:

1. Inform employees of their legal right to “blow the whistle” to the appropriate authority and

2. Acknowledge the contributions made by whistleblowers to combat waste, fraud, and abuse.

“This is a great bipartisan effort and a step forward for whistleblowers,” said Stephen M. Kohn, whistleblower attorney and founding partner at the qui tam law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto. “We are glad to see the sponsors of this resolution put their differences aside and come together to celebrate whistleblowers worldwide in a nonpartisan way.”

Kohn, who also serves as chairman of the board of the National Whistleblower Center, rediscovered the history behind the passage of the nation’s first whistleblower law through his original research for The New Whistleblower’s Handbook.

A week-long summit leading up to National Whistleblower Day will include seminars and panels led by political and agency leaders, including remarks from Sen. Grassley and Inspector General of the Department of Justice Michael Horowitz. Numerous whistleblowers and their advocacy groups are planning events during the week as well.

A COVID-19 nurse whistleblower and a police whistleblower will also be making remarks.

This year, the National Whistleblower Day celebration will be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For details on the schedule of events, visit the National Whistleblower Day 2020 website.

Ben Kostyack also contributed to this article.