M E M O R A N D U M
TO: Reporters and Editors
RE: Supreme Court Ruling today
DA: Monday, June 9, 2008
Senator Chuck Grassley today released the following comment after the Supreme Court ruled on the case, Allison Engine Company, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Sanders, which was appealed to the Supreme Court from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
“Today's decision by the Supreme Court is further proof that we need legislation to clarify the true intent of the False Claims Act. As the author of the 1986 amendments, I can attest to the fact that this result was not what Congress envisioned when we updated Lincoln's law. To say that knowingly submitting fraudulent invoices to a prime contractor is not enough to establish a ‘direct link’ between the fraudulent submission and the Government's decision to pay, makes it more difficult to prosecute fraud and poses a threat to the federal treasury. The False Claims Act is often the taxpayers’ last chance to recover monies lost to fraud and abuse. I intend to fix this problem so we don't create a free fraud zone for subcontractors."