Hawkeye Reporter

WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of legislation that strengthened the False Claims Act (FCA), praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Schutte v. SuperValu. The ruling restores Congress’ original intent of the FCA by rejecting the lower court’s decision that allowed fraudsters to dodge FCA liability, even if they unintentionally defrauded the government. Grassley last year filed an amicus brief calling on the Supreme Court to reverse the lower court’s radical departure from the plain language of the FCA.

“The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision is a major victory for American taxpayers, who have been saved billions thanks to the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act is our best tool to combat government fraud and abuse, which is why I’ve fought for decades to strengthen and improve it. I’m grateful that every single Supreme Court justice saw reason and chose to uphold the integrity of the law,” Grassley said.

In 1986, Grassley led a successful legislative effort to update the False Claims Act, which allows the government to recover taxpayer dollars from entities that defrauded federal agencies. One of its key provisions, known as qui tam, allows whistleblowers to file suit against alleged fraudsters on behalf of the government and share in any recovered damages. During oral arguments in SuperValu, Justice Sonia Sotomayor cited Grassley as “the person most knowledgeable about what Congress intended” with the law.

Original source can be found here.