S 890 · 112th Congress 2011–2013, ended

Fighting Fraud to Protect Taxpayers Act of 2011

Latest action · Jan 30, 2012 By Senator Leahy from Committee on the Judiciary filed written report. Report No. 112-142.

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.

  1. IntroducedMay 5, 2011
  2. Passed SenateNot reached
  3. Passed HouseNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Fighting Fraud to Protect Taxpayers Act of 2011 - (Sec. 2) Amends the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act to establish, as a separate account in the Department of Justice (DOJ) Working Capital Fund, a supplemental fraud fighting account. Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) credit, as an offsetting collection to that account, up to .5% of all amounts collected pursuant to DOJ civil debt collection litigation activities; and (2) use amounts in that account for the cost of the investigation and conduct of criminal, civil, or administrative proceedings relating to fraud offenses.

Rescinds all unobligated balances in the debt collection management account and the supplemental fraud fighting account (covered amounts) in excess of $175 million at the end of FY2012 and the end of each fiscal year thereafter. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to rescind sums from the debt collection management account and the supplemental fraud fighting account in a ratio of six dollars to one dollar, respectively.

Directs the Attorney General to submit an annual report that identifies, for the most recent fiscal year before the date of the report: (1) the amount credited to the debt collection management account and the amount credited to the supplemental fraud fighting account from civil debt collection litigation, (2) the amount expended from the debt collection management account for civil debt collection, (3) the amounts expended from the supplemental fraud fighting account and the justification for the expenditure of such amounts, and (4) the unobligated balance in the debt collection management account and the unobligated balance in the supplemental fraud fighting account at the end of the fiscal year.

(Sec. 3) Amends the False Claims Act to provide that the cost of prosecutions under such Act shall be credited to the appropriations accounts of the executive agency from which the funds used for the costs were paid.

(Sec. 4) Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) permit the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, or an Assistant Attorney General (currently, only a U.S. attorney) to bring an interlocutory appeal from a district court decision or order suppressing or excluding evidence or requiring the return of seized property in a criminal proceeding; (2) extend the international money laundering statute to tax evasion and tax fraud crimes; (3) expand the prohibition against trafficking in a password through which a protected computer may be accessed without authorization; (4) permit the prosecution of federal mail fraud offenses in any district in which an act in furtherance of the offense is committed; and (5) make the prohibition against fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents (identity theft) applicable to organizations (e.g., corporations).

(Sec. 8) Expands the authority of the United States Secret Service to conduct undercover investigative operations. Authorizes the Secret Service to: (1) purchase facilities and lease space within the United States and acquire on a commercial basis proprietary corporations and business entities as part of undercover investigative operations, (2) make deposits of appropriated amounts and proceeds from undercover investigative operations in financial institutions, and (3) use the proceeds from undercover operations to offset necessary and reasonable expenses. Requires the Director of the Secret Service to conduct financial audits of closed undercover investigation operations and report on such audits.

(Sec. 9) Directs the Attorney General to report to the Judiciary Committees of Congress annually on settlements or compromises of claims or actions entered into with DOJ that relate to alleged violations involving major fraud against the United States or false claims and that result from a claim for damages of more than $100,000.

Cosponsors 3

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 5, 2011 to May 12, 2011; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
R-IAChuck GrassleyOriginalMay 5, 2011
D-MNAmy KlobucharMay 12, 2011
D-DEChristopher A. CoonsMay 12, 2011

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
SenateJudiciary Committee
Referred May 5, 2011Markup May 19, 2011Reported May 19, 2011
Administrative Oversight and the Courts Subcommittee
Hearings Jun 30, 2011

Actions 8

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Jan 30, 2012By Senator Leahy from Committee on the Judiciary filed written report. Report No. 112-142.
  2. Jun 30, 2011Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 112-357.
  3. May 19, 2011Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
  4. May 19, 2011Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Leahy without amendment. Without written report.
  5. May 19, 2011Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 60.
  6. May 5, 2011Introduced in Senate
  7. May 5, 2011Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2733)
  8. May 5, 2011Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2733-2735)

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.

WhereIn the RecordMembersDate
SenateDebate and remarks S2733Text printed S2733–S2735Patrick J. Leahy D-VT (text)May 5, 2011

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.

Committee report

Congressional Budget Office cost estimate

  1. Jun 15, 2011S. 890, Fighting Fraud to Protect Taxpayers Act of 2011Cost estimate for the bill as reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on May 19, 2011

CRS reports 1

Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.

Cite it 1

Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.

Titles 3

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
A bill to establish the supplemental fraud fighting account, and for other purposes.
Short Titles as Introduced
Fighting Fraud to Protect Taxpayers Act of 2011
Short Titles as Reported to Senate
Fighting Fraud to Protect Taxpayers Act of 2011

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Law.

Text 2

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. May 19, 2011Reported to Senate
  2. May 5, 2011Introduced in Senate

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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.