II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2428 

To amend title 31, United States Code, to modify False Claims Act 

procedures, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2021 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. DURBIN, and 

Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 31, United States Code, to modify False 

Claims Act procedures, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘False Claims Amend5 ments Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FALSE CLAIMS PROCEDURE. 

7 (a) PROVING MATERIALITY.—Section 3729 of title 

8 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(e) PROVING MATERIALITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In an action under this sec2 tion, the Government or relator may establish mate3 riality by a preponderance of the evidence. 

4 ‘‘(2) REBUTTAL.—A defendant may rebut an 

5 argument of materiality under paragraph (1) by 

6 clear and convincing evidence.’’. 

7 (b) COSTS.—Section 3731 of title 31, United States 

8 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(f) If the Government elects not to intervene in an 

10 action brought under section 3730(b), the court shall, 

11 upon a motion by the Government, order the requesting 

12 party to pay the Government’s expenses, including costs 

13 and attorneys’ fees, for responding to the party’s discovery 

14 requests, unless the party can demonstrate that the infor15 mation sought is relevant, proportionate to the needs of 

16 the case, and not unduly burdensome on the Govern17 ment.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. RIGHTS OF THE PARTIES TO QUI TAM ACTIONS. 

19 Section 3730(c)(2)(A) of title 31, United States 

20 Code, is amended by inserting before the period at the 

21 end the following: ‘‘, at which the Government shall have 

22 the burden of demonstrating reasons for dismissal, and 

23 the qui tam plaintiff shall have the opportunity to show 

24 that the reasons are fraudulent, arbitrary and capricious, 

25 or contrary to law’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. POST-EMPLOYMENT WHISTLEBLOWER RETALIA2 TION. 

3 Section 3730(h)(1) of title 31, United States Code, 

4 is amended by inserting ‘‘current or former’’ after ‘‘Any’’. 

5 SEC. 5. GAO REPORT. 

6 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

8 shall submit a report to Congress on the effectiveness of 

9 the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. 3729 et seq.) during the 

10 time period beginning on the date of enactment of the 

11 False Claims Amendments Act of 1986 (Public Law 99– 

12 562; 100 Stat. 3153) and ending on the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, which shall include— 

14 (1) a description of the benefits and challenges 

15 of enforcement efforts under the False Claims Act 

16 (31 U.S.C. 3729 et seq.); and 

17 (2) information on the amounts recovered by 

18 the Government under the False Claims Act since 

19 the date of enactment of the False Claims Amend20 ments Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–562; 100 Stat. 

21 3153). 

22 SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY. 

23 The amendments made by sections 2, 3, and 4 of this 

24 Act shall apply to any case under the False Claims Act 

25 (31 U.S.C. 3729 et seq.) that is— 


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1 (1) filed on or after the date of enactment of 

2 this Act; or 

3 (2) pending on the date of enactment of this 

4 Act. 

Æ 


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