CBO Reports on Grassley Bill That Would Modify Escobar Materiality and Impose Rational Relation Test on Granston Dismissals

On July 15, 2022, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a cost estimate concerning the False Claims Amendments Act of 2021, a bill sponsored by Senator Grassley.  The bill would alter the False Claims Act in three important ways. (more…)

DOJ Announces Increased Inflation-Adjusted False Claims Act Penalties

The 2015 Balanced Budget Act (BBA) requires that federal agencies make inflationary adjustments to civil monetary penalties on a yearly basis to account for inflation using calculations based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index. In recent years, these increases have occurred less frequently. But on December 13, 2021 the Department of Justice published a final rule that increases the civil penalties in False Claims Act actions for violations that that occurred after November 2, 2015, the date the BBA was enacted. (more…)