Grassley, Longtime Champion of the False Claims Act, Urges U.S. Court of Appeals to Uphold Provision to Fight Fraud, Empower Whistleblowers

WASHINGTON– Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of legislation thatstrengthenedtheFalse Claims Act, is urging the United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the constitutionality of the law’s criticalqui tamprovision, which allows whistleblowers to bring lawsuits against fraudsters on behalf of the federal government and share in any recoveries.
“TheFalse Claims Actis our nation’s single greatest tool to fight waste, fraud and abuse,”Grassley said. “As the author of the 1986 amendments to theFalse Claims Act, I’m strongly urging the Eleventh Circuit to reverse the lower court’s flawed decision and uphold the constitutionally-soundqui tamprovision. By protecting and empowering whistleblowers who shine a light on wrongdoing, theFalse Claims Act, with itsqui tamprovision, has recovered over $78 billion – a massive victory for taxpayers.”
Grassley’s amicus brief specifically discusses theZafirov v. Florida Medical Associationsdecision, which dismissed aqui tamaction under theFalse Claims Acton the basis that thequi tamprovision is unconstitutional.
In response, Grassley argues that:
Read Grassley’s amicus briefHERE.
Background:
Grassley in 1986 updated theFalse Claims Act,the law enabling the government to recover taxpayer dollars from entities that defrauded federal agencies. A key provision in that update,qui tam, allows whistleblowers to sue alleged fraudsters on behalf of the government and share in any recoveries. Since then, theFalse Claims Acthas recovered over$78 billionin taxpayer dollars.
Despite theFalse Claims Act’s overwhelming success, courts and defendants have attempted to mischaracterize and weaken the law. In June 2023, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decisionupholdingthe plain text and congressional intent of the law to hold accountable individuals who knowingly defraud the government. Grassley also filed anamicus briefin that case.
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