April 24, 2009

The same Senators who favor tough regulation of bonuses for financial execs seem to believe that when it comes to the bounties made available to relators under the False Claims Act, $50 million (carved out directly from taxpayer recovery) just isn't enough to incentivize them:

The Senate rejected a bid Thursday to impose new limits on whistleblower awards as it moved toward passage of legislation to beef up the government's ability to combat financial fraud.

By 31-61, the Senate rejected an amendment by Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., that sought to set a $50 million maximum on the amount that a whistleblower could receive through a False Claims Act lawsuit to recoup taxpayer funds lost to fraud. Currently, awards can reach 30 percent of the total recovered for the federal government, if a judge approves that much.

More: Recent House Judiciary testimony (predominantly supportive, of course) on qui tam expansion.