On January 15, Pam Bondi, President-elect Trump’s nomination to be the Attorney General of the United States, voiced her support for the constitutionality of the False Claims Act during her Senate confirmation hearing.
The False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions, which enable whistleblowers to bring forward lawsuits alleging contracting fraud against the government, have faced recent attacks on their constitutionality.
In September, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida ruled that the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions violate the Appointments Clause of Article II of the Constitution because qui tam whistleblowers who file suits on behalf of the U.S. government alleging fraud are granted “core executive power” without any “proper appointment under the Constitution.”
In a brief filed in early January, the U.S. federal government urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to reverse a district court ruling, noting that “other than the district court here, every court to have addressed the constitutionality of the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions has upheld them.”
During Bondi’s confirmation hearing, Senate Chuck Grassley (R-IA) asked if she believed that the False Claims Act is constitutional and if she would commit to continuing the Department of Justice’s defense of its constitutionality. Grassley spoke about how, thanks in large part to “patriotic whistleblowers,” the False Claims Act has resulted in over $78 billion in...
Bollinger Shipyard, a Lockport, La., based company, agreed to pay $1.02 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by billing the US Coast Guard for labor provided by wor...