August 07,2002

Grassley Comment on False Claim Act Response

M E M O R A N D U M

To: Reporters and Editors
Fr: Jill Gerber, 202/224-6522
Re: False Claims Act letter response
Da: Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2002

Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, on June 25, 2002, wrote
to the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services expressing concern
over whether the government is softening its approach to prosecuting health care kickback and
bribery cases under the False Claims Act. Grassley is the Senate author of the 1986 whistle blower
amendments to the False Claims Act. He asked a series of detailed questions. He received agency
responses on July 23. Grassley made the following comment on the responses.

“I’m disappointed by these responses. I didn’t get most of the information I requested. This
is a very serious issue, and I intend to keep working on it until I’m satisfied that the government isn’t
weakening its enforcement of anti-kickback statutes. During a hearing two weeks ago, Attorney
General Ashcroft promised me a complete response. I look forward to receiving that. I also plan
to write a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services to ask for a complete response
from that agency, too.”