July 22, 2021
Senator Chuck Grassley
135 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
RE: Administrative False Claims Act of 2021
Dear Senator Grassley:
The undersigned members of the Make It Safe Coalition (MISC) write to applaud introduction of the Administrative False Claims Act of 2021 (AFCA). The False Claims Act is America’s most effective anti-corruption law, but as a practical matter it only has been relevant for the most outlandish cases of fraud in government contracts. The AFCA bill would expand the scope of accountability to the full scope of corruption.
The False Claims Act is a highly effective and indispensable tool for combatting high dollar fraud against the government. In 1986, Congress passed a “mini-False Claims Act” called the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act (PFCRA) to provide civil remedies for false claims of $150,000 or less. However, it has been underutilized and ineffective. The AFCA allows the Attorney General to delegate review authority, which will help with the backlog of PFCRA cases and enable the Department of Justice to take swifter action. Furthermore, the bill allows agencies and inspectors general to recoup the costs of investigating and prosecuting false claims and statements by utilizing the funds recovered from AFCA actions. Finally, increasing the payments ceiling of the PFCRA in the Administrative False Claims Act to $1 million will allow more false claims to be actionable.
The AFCA consists entirely of noncontroversial provisions reflecting best practices that will be applied where they are needed to fix the blockades that have sedated the PFCRA. The undersigned organizations urge all Members of Congress to support this amendment.
Sincerely,
Empower Oversight
Government Accountability Project
National Security Counselors
National Whistleblower Center
Project On Government Oversight
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
Whistleblowers of America