Sen. Grassley Introduces Bipartisan False Claims Amendments Act Of 2023

Continuing his long and storied history of pushing for stronger enforcement of the False Claims Act (FCA), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) recently led a bipartisan group of senators in introducing the False Claims Amendments Act of 2023 (Act). In a July 25, 2023, press release explaining the intent of the Act, Grassley criticized "flawed court interpretations [that] have created loopholes for [defendants] to avoid accountability" and claimed that the "bipartisan bill clarifies our original intent to hold those accountable when they bilk the taxpayer."

His dig at judicial interpretation of the FCA was aimed squarely at a seminal U.S. Supreme Court decision on the FCA from 2016. That case delineated the test federal courts must apply to determine whether a given regulatory violation was material to the government's payment decision and, thus, actionable under the FCA. Since 2016, courts across the country have tackled the murky confines of materiality as it relates to