Tenth Anniversary 1986 FCA Amendments

Remarks Presented at TAF Reception
September 11, 1996

Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA)

. . . I thank you for the special tribute . . . and I'm obviously deeply honored to receive it. And I accept it on behalf of all you in this room, and of course countless others who are not in this room, because it has taken a partnership to make this law a success . . . . I'd like to pay tribute to those responsible with some specificity and I of course could start with Taxpayers Against Fraud. You've devoted your resources to exposing fraud and bringing back scarce dollars to the Treasury and that's not only good for the taxpayers, that's good for the credibility of good government. . . .

There are other private groups as well. You've mentioned the attorneys . . . You have been pioneers and you put together and put into practice what we in Congress could only hope for—an effective weapon against fraud.

I'd like to also salute my colleague here, Congressman Berman, my partner throughout the life of this law. And we still live not to pass it, but to protect it and to make sure it's a continued good tool. And as you said, that's an ongoing proposition. Today, it's one billion dollars later, and no one can question the effectiveness of Howard Berman's work and how we worked together. We're equally proud parents of this legislation. And for me, its passage is the single greatest accomplishment that I want to refer to in my years in the Senate. . . .

And then finally, as I just mentioned, the courageous ones—the whistleblowers. They're the ones who put their lives, their careers, and sadly even their families on the line. . . . They put their reputations on the line and, as far as I can tell from everyone I've dealt with, they did it because it was the right thing to do. It's the honorable thing to do. Telling the truth is the one thing that can stop fraud dead in its tracks, and we'd be nowhere in this fight without those who are willing to tell the truth and blow the whistle. . . .

My philosophy regarding qui tam is simple: It works because it's a true partnership. It's a partnership between private citizens and the Government. It joins private resources with government resources. It's a successful formula that we honor Lincoln for. In his wisdom, President Lincoln knew that you could create a team of public servants and private citizens and that they would work together for a common good serving the American taxpayer. . . .

We're celebrating the tenth anniversary and for ten years we've managed to keep our promise to the taxpayers. We're working hard to protect the taxpayers' hard-earned dollars. It's not often the Congress does what it promises, and it's because of all of you that we've done that in the case of qui tam. This hasn't been an easy proposition. It takes dedication. And all of you have shown that. . . .

Representative Howard Berman (D-CA)

Thank you very much for choosing to honor us today. . . . I consider the passage of the False Claims Amendments as one of my most significant legislative accomplishments. . . . I take great pride in being involved with this legislation and what, most importantly, people have done with the law since we passed it. Because if you believe that government has a role in helping people, in accomplishing things and making our country stronger, nothing can more quickly undermine people's faith in government than the notion that inefficiencies, waste, fraud, and cheating goes on and takes the taxpayers' money. So in my sight, for me, the False Claims Act Amendments affirm my belief in what an honest government, and a vigilant government dealing with the people it does business with, can do on behalf of the public's relationship to that government. . . . . . .

I note Taxpayers Against Fraud has sponsored a study which essentially concludes that over the next ten years we can probably expect approximately 6 billion dollars in additional taxpayer recoveries as a result of this law. That's something to be proud of. But it's another figure in that report that maybe should give us even more sense of reward and accomplishment in terms of this legislation, because the real goal here is the deterrent value. . . . According to the report, approximately 100 billion dollars in that same ten year period of time will be saved to the taxpayers from conduct not undertaken because of the fear of the consequences that come from all this.

I want to join with Senator Grassley in paying tribute to the parties that are doing this: The U.S. Government —We finally have a Justice Department who thinks this is a constitutional law and sees the benefits of it. I like that. [Assistant Attorney General] Frank Hunger, I noticed was here earlier. He's been very helpful in testimony in front of Senator Grassley's subcommittee on this issue.

And as to both the whistleblowers and their lawyers . . . the risks personally, with family and business, in terms of just your own freedom and stability in doing something like this, are tremendous. And they're far greater than those experienced by any of us who have been involved in this as a matter of our jobs as legislators. So I tip my hat to you as well.