False Claims Act Correction Act of 2007
Latest action · Jul 16, 2008 Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law Discharged.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedDec 19, 2007
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
False Claims Act Correction Act of 2007 - Amends the False Claims Act to revise requirements and procedures governing civil actions for false claims (qui tam actions) brought by private persons.
Repeals the requirement that a false or fraudulent claim for payment must be presented directly to a federal employee or member of the Armed Forces (thus tying liability for such claims directly to federal money and property, regardless to whom the claim is presented).
Revises requirements for alternate remedies affecting qui tam actions and related qui tam plaintiff awards.
Allows dismissal of a private action based upon prior public disclosures only upon timely motion to dismiss by the Attorney General.
Revises the prohibition of retaliatory action against whistleblowers to include material hindering of the person in obtaining new employment or other business opportunities.
Requires the government to pay from the proceeds of an action for financial losses suffered by administrative beneficiaries (thus permitting actions for fraud instituted against nontaxpayer funds under federal trust and administration).
Expands from six years to ten years the statute of limitations for bringing a civil action.
Requires the government, if it elects to intervene and proceed with an action, to file its own complaint, or amend the complaint of a person who brought a civil action, but in any event to relate back to the filing date of the original qui tam complaint to the extent that such claim arises out of the same set of facts.
Declares that a person bringing a private qui tam action shall not be required to identify specific claims that result from an alleged course of misconduct if: (1) the facts alleged in the complaint, if ultimately proven true, would provide a reasonable indication that one or more false claims are likely to have occurred; and (2) the allegations in the pleading provide adequate notice of the specific nature of the alleged misconduct to permit the government effectively to investigate and defendants fairly to defend such allegations.
Declares void any contracts, agreements, or private terms or conditions of employment that limit or circumvent the rights of a person to bring a qui tam action.
Declares further that no court-ordered seal on a qui tam action shall prevent the government or the person bringing the action from serving the complaint or related documents upon state or local law enforcement authorities.
Modifies procedures for civil investigative demands.
Cites circumstances in which the government may move to dismiss a qui tam action by a federal employee (who has, in effect, not exhausted administrative procedures for addressing the allegations in the false claim complaint).
Cosponsors 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Dec 19, 2007 to Jul 16, 2008; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-WI | F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. | Original | Dec 19, 2007 |
| D-CA | Linda T. Sánchez | Jul 16, 2008 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Dec 19, 2007Markup Jul 16, 2008 |
| Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee | Referred Feb 25, 2008Hearings Jun 24, 2008Discharged Jul 16, 2008 | |
| Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee | Referred Feb 25, 2008Hearings Jun 19, 2008Discharged Jul 16, 2008 |
Actions 11
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 16, 2008Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Jul 16, 2008Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- Jul 16, 2008Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property Discharged.
- Jul 16, 2008Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law Discharged.
- Jun 24, 2008Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- Jun 19, 2008Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- Feb 25, 2008Referred to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.
- Feb 25, 2008Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.
- Dec 19, 2007Introduced in House
- Dec 19, 2007Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2658-2659)
- Dec 19, 2007Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E2658 | Howard L. Berman D-CA | Dec 19, 2007 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Congressional Budget Office cost estimates 2
- Nov 21, 2008H.R. 4854, False Claims Act Correction Act of 2007<p>Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on July 17, 2008</p>
- Nov 21, 2008H.R. 4854, False Claims Act Correction Act of 2007Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on July 17, 2008
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 110-137 | FALSE CLAIMS ACT CORRECTION ACT OF 2007185 pages | Judiciary Committee | Jun 19, 2008 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 2041 | False Claims Act Correction Act of 2008 | Related bill | Sep 25, 2008 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the provisions of title 31, United States Code, relating to false claims to clarify and make technical amendments to those provisions, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- False Claims Act Correction Act of 2007
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Law.
- Administrative remedies
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Civil actions and liability
- Civil procedure
- Claims
- Commerce
- Congress
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Contracts
- Damages
- Federal employees
- Fraud
- Government Operations and Politics
- Governmental investigations
- Jurisdiction
- Labor and Employment
- Labor contracts
- Law
- Limitation of actions
- Military personnel
- Parties to actions
- Qui tam actions
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 19, 2007Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
