Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the
House of Representatives relating to—
‘‘(i) the cases in which the Department of
Justice has filed a motion to dismiss under this
paragraph;
‘‘(ii) the outcome of such motions; and
‘‘(iii) the status of false claims civil actions
in which such motions were filed.’’.
SEC. 3. PROVISIONS RELATING TO ACTIONS BARRED AND
QUI TAM AWARDS.
Section 3730 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (b)(1) by adding at the end
thereof ‘‘A right of action for a violation of section
3729 may not be waived or released by any person,
except as part of a court approved settlement of a
civil action brought under this section.’’;
(2) in subsection (d)(1)—
(A) in the first sentence—
(i) by striking out ‘‘, subject to the
second sentence of this paragraph,’’; and
(ii) by inserting after ‘‘proceeds of the
action or settlement of the claim,’’ the fol-
lowing: ‘‘including all proceeds or settle-
ment amounts attributable to allegations
developed as a result of information pro-
vided to the Government by such person,’’;
(B) in the third sentence by striking out
‘‘or the second sentence’’; and
(C) by striking out the second sentence;
and
(3) in subsection (e) by striking out paragraph
(4).
SEC. 4. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.
Section 3730(h) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by striking out ‘‘(h)’’ and inserting in lieu
thereof ‘‘(h) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.—(1)’’;
and
(2) by adding at the end thereof the following
new paragraph:
‘‘(2)(A) In any action brought by an employee under
paragraph (1), the employee shall be entitled to relief if,
based upon a preponderance of the evidence, the employee
demonstrates that a lawful act described under paragraph
(1) was a contributing factor in the action by the employer
against the employee that is alleged in the complaint.
‘‘(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), an em-
ployee who brings an action under paragraph (1) shall not
be entitled to relief if the employer demonstrates by clear
and convincing evidence that the employer would have
taken the same action against the employee in the absence
of the lawful act that was a contributing factor described
in subparagraph (A).’’.
SEC. 5. DEFINITION OF PERSON.
Section 3730 of title 31, United States Code, is fur-
ther amended by inserting at the end thereof the following
new subsection:
‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the
term ‘person’ means any natural person, partnership, cor-
poration, association, or other legal entity, including any
State or political subdivision of a State.’’.
SEC. 6. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.
Section 3731(b) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(b)(1) A civil action under section 3730 may not be
brought more than 6 years after the date on which the
violation of section 3729 is committed.
‘‘(2) For the purpose of computing the period de-
scribed under paragraph (1), there shall be excluded all
periods during which facts material to the right of action
are not known and reasonably could not be known by the
official of the United States with authority to act in the
circumstances.’’.
SEC. 7. AUTHORITY TO ISSUE INVESTIGATIVE DEMANDS.
Section 3733 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(1)—
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A) by inserting ‘‘or an Assistant Attorney Gen-
eral’’ after ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place it ap-
pears; and
(B) in the matter following subparagraph
(D)—
(i) in the first sentence by inserting
‘‘or an Assistant Attorney General’’ after
‘‘Attorney General’’; and
(ii) in the second sentence by striking
out ‘‘, the Deputy Attorney General,’’;
(2) in subsection (a)(2)—
(A) in subparagraph (F) by striking out
‘‘designated by the Attorney General’’; and
(B) in subparagraph (G) by inserting ‘‘or
an Assistant Attorney General’’ after ‘‘Attorney
General’’ each place it appears;
(3) in subsection (h)(6) by striking out ‘‘, the
Deputy Attorney General,’’;
(4) in subsection (i) by inserting ‘‘or an Assist-
ant Attorney General’’ after ‘‘Attorney General’’
each place it appears; and
(5) in subsection (l)(6) by inserting ‘‘or an As-
sistant Attorney General’’ after ‘‘Attorney General’’.
SEC. 8. APPLICABILITY AND EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The amendments made by
this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment
of this Act and shall apply to cases filed on or after the
date of enactment of this Act.
(2) The provisions of section 3730(b)(6)(A)(i) of title
31, United States Code (as added by section 2 of this Act),
and section 3730 (d) and (e) of such title (as amended
by section 3 (2) and (3) of this Act), shall apply to cases
pending on the date of the enactment of this Act. In any
case that is pending on the date of the enactment of this
Act in which the Government has elected to proceed with
the action under section 3730(b)(4) of title 31, United
States Code, the Government may file a motion to dismiss
a qui tam relator under section 3730(b)(6)(A)(i) of such
title (as added by section 2 of this Act), no later than
120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) PRIOR LAWS.—(1) The amendments made by the
False Claims Amendments Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–
562) shall apply to cases filed on or after the date of the
enactment of such Act, and to cases pending on such date
that are still pending on the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(2) The amendments made by section 9 of the Major
Fraud Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–700) shall apply to
cases filed on or after the date of the enactment of such
Act, and to cases pending on such date that are still pend-
ing on the date of enactment of this Act.
Æ