NCJ Number
85037
Date Published
1982
Length
119 pages
Annotation
Testimony from representatives of the General Accounting Office (GAO), the Justice Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Defense Department supports the essentials of S. 1780, which mandates that Federal agencies can initiate civil action in cases of false statements and claims.
Abstract
S. 1780 gives Federal agencies the ability to recover money lost as a result of fraud by Government contractors, grantees, and employees, along with the imposition of penalties where such fraud has been accomplished by the submission of false claims or false statements. GAO supports the bill largely because the Justice Department currently finds it cost-effective only to pursue those cases involving large dollar amounts and for which sufficient evidence exists to make a criminal conviction likely. S. 1780 would permit Federal agencies involved in relatively small dollar losses to initiate civil administrative action against the alleged perpetrators. The Justice Department supports the bill overall, but recommends certain changes, such as specifying the maximum dollar amount under which an agency could initiate action, under the assumption that the Justice Department would pursue cases involving amounts over that figure. The Defense Department also supports the changes in the bill suggested by the Justice Department. Representatives of the Department of Health and Human Service and the Commerce Department support the bill as well. The American Bar Association has provided a written statement opposing the bill for a number of reasons, among which is the belief that the Government already has sufficient administrative, civil, and criminal penalties to impose in instances of fraud against the Government. A copy of the bill is provided.