WASHINGTON
– A bipartisan group of senators, led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa),
introduced the False Claims Amendments Act of 2021 to beef up the
government’s most potent tool to fight fraud.
“The
False Claims Act has clearly been the best tool to fight fraud against
the government and recover lost taxpayer dollars. Tens of billions of dollars
have been returned to the federal treasury since my updates of 35 years ago.
The legislation we introduced today will help recoup even more money by
clarifying confusion after the Escobar case. The Administrative False Claims Act will significantly improve the
process for smaller claims. I look forward to pushing for these bills to become
law, and continuing my work to protect taxpayers and whistleblowers who shine a
light on fraud, waste and abuse. In light of the trillions of dollars that
Congress has appropriated recently for COVID relief, these bills are needed,
more than ever, to fight the significant amounts of fraud that we are already
seeing,” Grassley said.
“The
False Claims Act is an important tool for combatting fraud against the federal
government and American taxpayers, in addition to providing incentives for
whistleblowers to come forward with knowledge of wrongdoing. In 2016, the
Supreme Court weakened this critical tool by making it more difficult for
plaintiffs and whistleblowers to succeed in lawsuits against government
contractors engaged in fraud. I am proud to join Senator Grassley again in
amending the FCA to address the fallout from that decision. Strong FCA
enforcement is vital to ensuring that those who defraud the federal government
are held accountable. I hope that our bipartisan False Claims Amendments Act of
2021 moves swiftly through the Senate,” Sen.
Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said.
“The False
Claims Act Amendments of 2021 will crack down on those who leech dollars
from American taxpayers’ pockets through legal loopholes. It will hold
fraudsters accountable when their crimes cause investigations that waste
taxpayer money. I am proud to partner with Sen. Grassley on this important
legislation,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said.
“This is an important bill which builds on previous
efforts to recoup lost taxpayer dollars. I’m proud to join this bipartisan
group of colleagues to introduce a bill that will bolster the government’s
ability to fight fraud,”
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said.
“For
over 30 years, whistleblowers have helped the federal government recover
billions of taxpayer dollars lost to fraud,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said.
“Now that Congress has spent trillions responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, it
is important to ensure the False Claims Act remains the most effective tool for
combatting fraud and rewarding those who expose it.”
The
False Claims Amendments Act of 2021 (S.2428) clarifies the current law
following confusion and misinterpretation of the Supreme Court decision in United
Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar, which has made it all too
easy for fraudsters to argue that their obvious fraud was not material simply
because the government continued payment. It also ensures that anti-retaliation
provisions from the False Claims Act apply to post-employment
retaliation and makes fraudsters liable for reimbursing the government for
costs associated with a burdensome discovery process. The bill is cosponsored
by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and
Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).
Full
text of the
False Claims Act Amendments
of 2021 can be found
HERE.
A summary of the legislation can be found
HERE.
The bill is
endorsed
by Taxpayers Against Fraud, the National Whistleblower Center, the Project on
Government Oversight and the Government Accountability Project.
Another
group of senators, also led by Grassley, introduced the Administrative False
Claims Act, which updates the
law governing smaller, and potentially more frequent, instances of fraud
committed against the government. The legislation raises the statutory ceiling
on these types of claims from $150,000 to $1 million, expands the number of Justice
Department officials who can review these claims and allows the government to
recoup costs for investigating and prosecuting these frauds. The bill is
cosponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.).
Full
text of the
Administrative False Claims
Act can be found
HERE.
A summary of the legislation can be found
HERE.
The bill is
endorsed
by several government accountability groups, including Empower Oversight,
Government Accountability Project, National Security Counselors, National
Whistleblower Center, Project on Government Oversight, Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility and Whistleblowers of America.
In
1986, Grassley led the successful effort to update the False Claims Act,
which allows the government to recover taxpayer dollars from entities that
defrauded federal agencies. A key provision in that update, known as qui
tam, allows whistleblowers to bring suites against alleged fraudsters on
behalf of the government and share in any recoveries. That provision is credited
with more than two-thirds of all False Claims Act recoveries
since 1987.
In
January, the Justice Department
announced
the successful recovery of over $2.2 billion through
False Claims Act cases that would have otherwise been lost to fraud
in FY2020. More $1.6 billion of those claims were recovered through Grassley’s
qui tam provisions. A total of more than
$64 billion in taxpayer money has been recovered since the 1986 update to the
law.
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