The Administrative False Claims Act of 2023 is set to pass in Congress before the end of the year as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (NDAA). The bill, introduced by whistleblower champion Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), will target smaller-dollar frauds against the government by raising the statutory maximum of a fraud claim that can be handled administratively from $150,000 to $1 million.
The NDAA passed the House of Representatives on December 11. The Administrative False Claims Act previously unanimously passed the Senate as a standalone bill in April 2023.
Grassley led the passage of the amendments modernizing the False Claims Act in 1986 by enhancing the qui tam provision to allow whistleblowers to bring suits on behalf of the government against fraudsters. Since then, the False Claims Act has collected more than $70 billion from fraudsters.
With AFCA, Grassley hopes to fill in the cracks in the False Claims Act by targeting smaller-dollar frauds.. “Fraud of any size should not be tolerated,” Senator Grassley said. “The Administrative False Claims Act will significantly improve the process for smaller claims.”
The law will also increase staff in the Justice Department so that more claims are reviewed, investigated, and prosecuted. According to whistleblower advocates, “these legislative fixes empower our nation to reach and unmask modern fraud schemes,” and “will allow the government to better reach smaller-dollar fraud claims that currently siphon government dollars with impunity.”
The passage of the Administrative False Claims Act will mark off a key goal of the National Whistleblower Center’s Seven Major Campaigns of 2024.
