Sep. 17, 2018
Dear Securities and Exchange Commission, I write in regard to the proposed amendments to the rules governing the SEC whistleblower program (File Number S7-16-18). The SEC proposed these changes with no input from the whistleblower community, yet adopted a position consistent with the long-standing and flimsy viewpoint advanced by the anti-whistleblower U. S. Chamber of Commerce (“Chamber”). It is my understanding that the National Whistleblower Center filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking documents related to lobbying efforts by Wall Street firms and the Chamber of Commerce that gave rise to the SEC’s proposed rules. The SEC determined that the NWC had a “compelling need” to receive these documents “on an expedited basis” and determined that there were 15,877 emails that could be responsive to NWC’s request. These included 1,078 emails that referenced both “whistleblower” and “Chamber of Commerce” created between January 2, 2017 and June 29, 2018. Despite its agreement to expedite the release of these documents, the SEC will not release them until after the comment period. Therefore, the SEC must extend the public comment period for its proposed rules on the Whistleblower Program until 60 days after the documents requested by the NWC’s FOIA request have been released. If the comment period is not extended, I agree with the concerns raised in the NWC’s letter filed with the Commission on September 17, 2018, linked here: https://bit.ly/2xqGUts. The SEC must show to the people of this country the necessity of transparency or it will show that it is hiding inappropriate behaviors and transactions. Ms. Linda Massey+ 8510 Main St Edmonds, WA 98026 2066676655