H.R. 6322, Stop Stealing our Chips Act

Bill Summary

H.R. 6322 would require the Department of Commerce to pay whistleblowers who report possible violations of U.S. export controls. Whistleblowers would receive between 10 percent and 30 percent of any penalty in excess of $1 million that the department collects as a result of the information provided by the whistleblower. Under current law, those penalty collections are retained in the Treasury.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is responsible for investigating and prosecuting export control violations. Under current law, the bureau operates a portal to collect information about potential violations, but is not authorized to remunerate whistleblowers. H.R. 6322 would require payments to certain whistleblowers; those payments would not be subject to the appropriation of funds.

Estimated Federal Cost

The estimated budgetary effects of H.R. 6322 are shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation fall within budget function 050 (national defense).

Basis of Estimate

For this estimate, CBO assumes that the bill will be enacted in fiscal year 2027. The estimate is based on data about criminal and civil enforcements from the BIS and on similar whistleblower incentive programs at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Direct Spending

Under H.R. 6322, whistleblowers would be rewarded if their actions lead to a successful criminal prosecution or civil enforcement of export control violations by BIS if the penalty exceeds $1 million. Using information about similar whistleblower programs at FinCEN, SEC, and CFTC, CBO expects that payments under the bill would begin two years after enactment.

In recent years, BIS has had an average of three successful enforcement actions annually with financial collections greater than $1 million. The penalties above that threshold averaged $45 million. Using information from FinCEN, SEC, and CFTC, CBO expects that one BIS enforcement action each year under current law will result from information provided by a whistleblower who would be eligible to receive an award under H.R. 6322. CBO anticipates that whistleblower awards would average 20 percent of penalty amounts. Thus, awards for BIS enforcement actions under current law would lead to additional payments under the bill, increasing direct spending by $72 million over the 2026‑2036 period.

In addition, using information from other federal agencies, CBO estimates that BIS would bring one additional enforcement action each year as a result of the incentives provided to whistleblowers in the bill. CBO estimates that whistleblower awards from those additional enforcement actions would increase direct spending by $72 million over the 2026‑2036 period.

In total, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 6322 would increase direct spending by $144 million over the 2026‑2036 period.

Revenues

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6322 would result in one additional civil enforcement action each year, on average. Using information from BIS, CBO estimates the bureau would collect an additional $45 million annually beginning in 2029.

The Conference Report for the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33) established a series of scorekeeping rules that guide what budget effects are attributed to proposed legislation. Rule 14 states that “no increase in receipts or decrease in direct spending will be scored as a result of a provision of a law that provides direct spending for administrative or program management activities.” Thus, any estimated additional penalties that may be collected under the proposed expansion to the whistleblower incentive program cannot be attributed to this bill for Congressional scorekeeping purposes.

Spending Subject to Appropriation

CBO expects that investigating and enforcing additional export control violations under the whistleblower incentives of H.R. 6322 would increase the workload of BIS by the equivalent of three full-time employees, or about 1 percent of the bureau’s current workforce for enforcement of export controls. Using information from BIS, CBO estimates that annual salary and benefits for each employee would average about $250,000. In total, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 6322 would cost $8 million over the 2026-2036 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

Uncertainty

CBO’s estimate of the budgetary effects of H.R. 6322 is subject to considerable uncertainty in several areas. The estimated cost of H.R. 6322 could be higher or lower if the number of cases requiring a whistleblower payment, the size of each collection, or the amount paid to whistleblowers differs from CBO’s estimate. In addition, CBO estimates that BIS would be able to pursue one additional enforcement action each year under the bill. The estimated cost could be higher or lower if the number of additional enforcement actions differs from CBO’s estimate.

Pay-As-You-Go Considerations

The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. The net changes in outlays that are subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in Table 2.

Increase in Long-Term Net Direct Spending and Deficits

CBO estimates that enacting H.R.6322 would not increase net direct spending by more than $2.5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037.

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6322 would not increase on‑budget deficits by more than $5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037.

Mandates

H.R. 6322 would impose private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by expanding federal protections for whistleblowers to private-sector employees who report potential violations of export control laws or rules to BIS. The bill would prohibit employers from interfering with or dismissing or disciplining employees for making those reports. Because compliance with those whistleblower protections likely would involve only a small adjustment in administrative procedures, CBO estimates the cost of the mandate would not exceed the threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($214 million in 2026, adjusted annually for inflation).

The bill would not impose intergovernmental mandates as defined in UMRA.

Estimate Prepared By

Federal Costs: Aldo Prosperi

Mandates: Brandon Lever

Estimate Reviewed By

David Newman
Chief, Defense, International Affairs, and Veterans’ Affairs Cost Estimates Unit

Kathleen FitzGerald
Chief, Public and Private Mandates Unit

Christina Hawley Anthony
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis

Estimate Approved By