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Washington, D.C. - Earlier today, Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-Van Nuys) joined Attorney General Eric Holder and Senator Patrick Leahy to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the False Claims Act Amendments of 1986. Since amended, the False Claims Act has been a tool to root out waste, fraud and abuse, enabling the Department of Justice (DOJ) to recoup more than $30 billion in settlements and judgments in civil cases involving fraud against the government.
“This law is one of my proudest achievements in public office, and I am grateful to those responsible for its success,” said Congressman Berman. “In this broken Congress- this law is a model of how things can and should work in the legislative branch. Without regard to party, we worked together to get this bill done for the American people. We were a Democrat in the House and a Republican in the Senate who were eventually able to produce a bill that was signed by President Reagan.”
Instrumental in securing House passage of the False Claims Act Amendments of 1986, Congressman Berman worked tirelessly in partnership with Republican Senator Charles Grassley to gain necessary bipartisan support for the bill. Through aggressive implementation, the False Claims Act has recovered $8.7 billion for American taxpayers in the last three years alone.
“On Capitol Hill, Congressman Berman was among those who launched a bipartisan, bicameral effort to amend the False Claims Act,” remarked Attorney General Holder. “Since the day that President Reagan signed these bipartisan amendments into law in 1986, their impact has been nothing short of profound. Over the last quarter century, the Department of Justice has recovered more than $30 billion under the False Claims Act. Whistleblowers have filed nearly 8,000 actions – including a record high of 638 in the past year.”
The law also served as a model of California’s False Claims Act, which passed in 1987 and has recovered over $600 million to the state.
“This law has served as a model in other areas of law— enlisting whistleblowers to fight fraud in new IRS and SEC provisions,” continued Rep. Berman. “And, it’s been a model for 29 states, including California, which has recovered over $600 million since passage of its own False Claims Act in 1987.”
Also appearing at today’s event with Congressman Berman and Attorney General Holder was Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Tony West, and scheduled to attend was Republican Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA).
To read more about the False claims Act, click here.
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