The Department of Justice (DOJ) is not supporting proposed legislation that would amend the False Claims Act (FCA), instead calling for more limited changes that would not include language allowing federal employees to bring qui tam lawsuits.

While DOJ is "sympathetic" to some of the proposals laid out in the False Claims Act Correction Act of 2007 (S. 2041), it is unwilling to support the bill in its current form, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Civil Division Michael F. Hertz told the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 27.

Chief among DOJ’s concerns is a provision in the bill that explicitly would allow government employees to bring qui tam (commonly known as whistleblower) actions after certain requirements were met.

Hertz told the Judiciary panel that government employees already have an obligation to report fraud and that giving them financial incentives to use their role in the government to access information that could be used in a lawsuit poses ethical concerns and could erode public trust in government employees.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced the bill in September 2007. During the hearing, Grassley said the 1986 qui tam amendments to the False Claims Act, which he authored, never were intended to preclude government employees from being whistleblowers. However, some courts have barred qui tam actions from government employees.

The bill seeks to give clear authority to government employees to bring qui tam actions, but would require government whistleblowers to follow defined protocol and give the government at least a year to respond to the complaints before any action could be filed.

Hertz said government employees already had the right to take complaints about fraudulent conduct to the inspectors general in government agencies or could go directly to the Department of Justice with concerns. "I think these employees have a place to go," Hertz said.

However, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), both cosponsors of the Grassley bill, said that, without the express ability to bring whistleblower actions, government employees had no recourse if agencies failed to act on complaints of fraud.

April 2008 - Table of Contents

GCR April 2008 (full PDF issue)

California Court to Rule on Injunction in Lab Competitive Bidding Suit

OIG Cites High-Risk Areas, Management Challenges

HHS Proposes Medical Error Reporting System

DOJ Objects to False Claims Act Amendments

Genetic Testing: An Evolving Market

Connecticut Hospital Reaches False Claims Settlement

Drug Company May Put Kiosk in Docs’ Offices, Says OIG

Data Lacking on Reprocessed Medical Devices: GAO

News in Brief (0804)