[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5290 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5290
To provide that the false claims provisions of title 31, United States
Code, include claims for Iraqi property or money administered or in the
custody of the United States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 4, 2006
Mr. Baird (for himself and Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide that the false claims provisions of title 31, United States
Code, include claims for Iraqi property or money administered or in the
custody of the United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Fraud in Iraq Act''.
SEC. 2. CLAIMS FOR IRAQI MONEY OR PROPERTY.
(a) In General.--
(1) Definition of claim.--The term ``claim'' in sections
3729(c) and 3801(a)(3) of title 31, United States Code,
includes any request, demand, or submission which is made for
Iraqi property or money, during the applicable period, if the
United States Government partially or fully controls,
administers, has custody of, or has legal possession of, such
property or money.
(2) Applicable period.--For purposes of paragraph (1), the
term ``applicable period'' means the period beginning on March
19, 2003, and ending on such date that all military action
concludes that is authorized by the Authorization for Use of
Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-
243).
(b) Waiver of Statutes of Limitations.--If, by reason of subsection
(a)--
(1) an action under section 3730 of title 31, United States
Code, would be precluded because of the time limitation
contained in section 3731(b) of such title, or
(2) a hearing under section 3803(d) of title 31, United
States Code, would be precluded because of the time limitation
contained in section 3808(a) of such title,
such time limitation shall not apply if the action or hearing, as the
case may be, is commenced not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(c) Return of Certain Property and Money.--If an action is brought
under section 3730 of title 31, United States Code, by reason of
subsection (a), the court shall order that any proceeds of the action
or settlement of the claim that the court determines is derived from
Iraqi property or money be returned to the owner or owners of the
property or money, except for such portion of the proceeds or
settlement that is awarded to any private person who brought the action
under section 3720(b) of such title.
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON EXTENSIONS OF TIME COMPLAINTS REMAIN UNDER SEAL
IN FALSE CLAIMS ACTIONS.
Section 3730(b)(3) of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``(3)'' and inserting ``(3)(A)'';
(2) in the first sentence, by striking ``extensions of the
time'' and inserting ``an extension of not more than 6 months
of the period'';
(3) in the second sentence, by striking ``motions'' and
inserting ``motion'';
(4) by inserting after the second sentence the following:
``The court may not grant more than 1 extension under this
subparagraph with respect to the complaint.''; and
(5) in the third sentence, by striking ``The defendant''
and inserting
``(B) The defendant''.
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