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STATEMENT BY DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER

The following statement was issued today by Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder following the publication of a "GAO report, entitled "DOJ Has Made Progress in Implementing False Claims Act Guidance," which discusses the positive steps the Department has taken to strengthen the oversight of civil national initiative matters:

• "I am pleased that GAO's report concludes that we are handling these investigations in a responsible fashion. The False Claims Act is our most powerful tool in combating fraud and abuse against taxpayer-financed programs. Since 1986, the Justice Department has recovered more than $3 billion under the False Claims Act - more than half of these recoveries involved health care fraud.

• "We have saved countless billions of dollars by deterring fraud and other misconduct before it occurs. At the same time, we need to ensure that we use the False Claims Act in a fair and even-handed way. In June 1998, I issued guidance to Department attorneys emphasizing this point and instituting new procedures for certain national health care fraud investigations. The new GAO report confirms that these steps, with the support of the U.S. Attorney's Offices around the country, are working.

• "The Department will continue its efforts to ensure that the False Claims Act is applied in a fair and even-handed manner while maintaining our campaign to ferret out health care fraud and abuse."

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