Sen. Grassley was the principal author of the 1986 amendments, which allow anyone who knows about fraud to sue companies on the government's behalf and entitles the government to recover three times its losses. He issued the following comments on today's announcement:
"This is tangible evidence of why the False Claims Act is the government's most effective tool against fraud. I commend the whistleblowers who come forward with information about fraud against the government and put their careers at risk. I also commend the Justice Department attorneys across the country who work hard to pursue these cases and recover millions of dollars for the taxpayers. This year, the False Claims Act withstood a fierce assault by some members of the health care industry. To those inclined to gut the False Claims Act, here are two billion more reasons why we need it more than ever."
For copies of the Department of Justice's news release, please call 202/224-1308.