The False Claims Act (FCA) (31 U.S.C. 3729, et seq.) has yet to fulfill its true potential for combating fraud, said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) at a February 27, 2008, hearing on "The False Claims Act Corrections Act of 2007" (S. 2041).
Among other things, S. 2041 would amend the FCA by weakening the public disclosure bar, prohibiting waivers of FCA liability, and expanding the Act's scope by imposing liability on individuals who submit claims to any recipient of federal funds, not just to the United States government.
In recent years, the FCA has become the government's most effective tool against fraud, Leahy said, noting that since 1986, it has been used to recover more than $20 billion lost to fraud. Yet the Department of Justice (DOJ) has failed to dedicate sufficient lawyers and investigators to pursue fraud cases, he added. The department has a backlog of more than 1,000 false claims cases, which at its current pace would take nearly 10 years to resolve, even if no new cases were brought. Leahy also noted that for every dollar spent enforcing the law in health care cases, the government recovered $15 on behalf of the American taxpayer.
Michael Hertz, DOJ Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, countered that there is "no pressing need for major amendments at this time," noting that "the FCA and its qui tam provisions have proven to be an extremely effective weapon in the government’s fight against fraud." Hertz explained that although the administration is sympathetic to some of the proposed amendments, "it cannot support the bill in its current form."
CCH Washington Bureau, Feb. 27, 2008.
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