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: Whistleblower Law Blog

Senate Committee votes for False Claims Act Amendments, S. 2041

By Brian F. LaBovick

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S. 2041, has received support from leadership in both parties and has moved out of the Senate Committe. Leading the charge is: Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), Senator Richard Durbin D-IL), Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA).

Proponents of S. 2041, note that the new bill clarifies the existing scope of False Claims Act liability, while closing the gap of a limited amout of loopholes for companies to use for stealing money from taxpayers.

Specifically, S.2041 would:

Remove the confusion over the statute of limitations period by adopting a straightforward 10-year period;
Provide strengthened employment protection for whistleblowers.
Clarify that False Claims Act liability protects all federal funds;
Explicitly clarifies that the False Claims Act applies to those who discover an overpayment and decide to pocket the funds
Solely vest the Government with the power to dismiss whistleblower-filed False Claims Act lawsuits that are based on public allegations.

According to Jeb White, President of Taxpayers against Fraud, "This Bill has broad bi-partisan support. It's hard to be opposed to building a better rat trap to catch corporate cheats, chiselers, and con artists."

As mentioned here previously on the Whistleblower Law Blog,
highlights of the bill include:

Makes corrections to 31 U.S.C § 3729 removing the requirement that false claims be presented to a government employee.

Amends the FCA to clarify the dismissal of parasitic claims filed based upon publicly disclosed information.

Clarifies that false or fraudulent claims against non-U.S. Government funds under the trust and control of the U.S. Government are subject to recovery under the FCA.

Clarifies a split between Circuit Courts of Appeal as to when a government employee may act as a qui tam relator under the FCA.

Makes technical and clarifying amendments to the statute of limitations in FCA cases.

Click here to read the False Claims Act Corrections Legislation 2007.

Full post as published by Whistleblower Law Blog on May 06, 2008 (boomark / email).