On Friday, September 18th, 2026, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced two revisions to its Justice Manual to strengthen the False Claims Act (FCA) in its fight against fraud. The revisions, which are meant to clarify the limits of reporting fraud and when the government will dismiss qui tam actions, aim to set clearer standards that promote fairness and efficiency in enforcing the anti-fraud law.
The DOJ expressed concerns about frivolous qui tam actions and regulating the use of government resources. In their recent press release regarding the FCA revisions, Associate Deputy Attorney General Paul Perkins claims that, “These revisions will help ensure the Department uses its enforcement authority fairly and effectively—holding fraudsters accountable for violations of binding legal or contractual obligations while seeking dismissal of meritless qui tam actions that waste taxpayer resources and impose unjustified burdens on businesses.”
The DOJ has maintained that it “will continue to exercise this authority judiciously, with an emphasis on seeking dismissal of qui tam actions that lack legal or factual merit and focusing Department resources on matters that advance the interests of the United States.”
The revisions and Perkins’ statements largely point to the government’s desire to cut government spending on qui tamactions it deems dismissible or meritless. Whistleblower advocates have expressed concern that these revisions could discourage people from coming forward to report fraud.
Whistleblower attorney Stephen M. Kohn expressed concern that the revisions may increase dismissals of valid qui tam actions and reduce representation for true whistleblowers. Kohn believes this may discourage whistleblowers from coming forward to report government fraud.
