Congress Updates False Claims Act

Last night, Congress updated the False Claims Act through its passage of FERA.

Jeb White, President of Taxpayers Against Fraud (TAF) had this to say:

"In 1986, with fraudsters draining the U.S. Treasury with impunity, Congress acted by revitalizing the False Claims Act. Once again, Congress strengthened the False Claims Act, when it passed the Fraud Enforcement & Recovery Act of 2009. President Obama has promised to quickly sign this bipartisan legislation, which seeks to remove many of the judicially created limitations and qualifications to the False Claims Act.

This much-needed legislation will modernize the Act, allowing the False Claims Act to reach modern-day fraud schemes. It will also remove many of the impediments to the Government's investigative powers, strengthen anti-retaliation protections, and clarify many of the procedural questions that have derailed qui tam actions in recent years.

This is a giant first step forward for our country's fraud-fighting efforts. The bipartisan support for this legislation demonstrates, once again, that when it comes to fighting fraud, politics takes a back seat to doing the right thing. Now that Congress has plugged the False Claims Act liability loopholes, we look forward to Congress addressing the rest of the problems identified in the False Claims Act Corrections Act of 2009."

Stay tuned. We'll provide ongoing discussion of the changes in the FCA and how they affect whistleblowers.