Rule2022-00732
Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986, Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation Adjustment
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 14, 2022
Effective
February 14, 2022
Issuing agencies
General Services Administration
Abstract
In accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 and further amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 2015, this final rule incorporates the penalty inflation adjustments for the civil monetary penalties set forth in the United States Code, as codified in our regulations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 10 (Friday, January 14, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 10 (Friday, January 14, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 2349-2350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00732]
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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
41 CFR Part 105-70
[FPMR Case 2022-01; Docket No. GSA-FPMR-2022-0004; Sequence No. 1]
RIN 3090-AK53
Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986, Civil Monetary
Penalties Inflation Adjustment
AGENCY: Office of the General Counsel, General Services Administration.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation
Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement
Act of 1996 and further amended by the Federal Civil Penalties
Inflation Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 2015, this final rule
incorporates the penalty inflation adjustments for the civil monetary
penalties set forth in the United States Code, as codified in our
regulations.
DATES: Effective February 14, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Aaron Pound, Assistant General
Counsel, General Law Division (LG), General Services Administration,
1800 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20405. Telephone Number 202-501-1460.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996
To maintain the remedial impact of civil monetary penalties (CMPs)
and to promote compliance with the law, the Federal Civil Penalties
Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-410) was amended by the
Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-134) to require
Federal agencies to regularly adjust certain CMPs for inflation and
further amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act
Improvement Act of 2015 (Sec. 701 of Pub. L. 114-74). As amended, the
law requires each agency to make an initial inflationary adjustment for
all applicable CMPs, and to make further adjustments at least once
every year thereafter for these penalty amounts. The Debt Collection
Improvement Act of 1996 further stipulates that any resulting increases
in a CMP due to the calculated inflation adjustments shall apply only
to violations which occur after the date the increase takes effect,
i.e., thirty (30) days after date of publication in the Federal
Register. Pursuant to the 2015 Act, agencies are required to adjust the
level of the CMP with an initial ``catch up'', and make subsequent
annual adjustments for inflation. Catch up adjustments are based on the
percent change between the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers
(CPI-U) for the month of October for the year of the previous
adjustment, and the October 2015 CPI-U. Annual inflation adjustments
will be based on the percent change between the October CPI-U preceding
the date of adjustment and the prior year's October CPI-U.
II. The Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986
In 1986, sections 6103 and 6104 of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-501) set forth the Program Fraud
Civil Remedies Act of 1986 (PFCRA). Specifically, this statute imposes
a CMP and an assessment against any person who, with knowledge or
reason to know, makes, submits, or presents a false, fictitious, or
fraudulent claim or statement to the Government. The General Services
Administration's regulations, published in the Federal Register (61 FR
246, December 20, 1996) and codified at 41 CFR part 105-70, set forth a
CMP of up to $10,781 for each false claim or statement made to the
agency. Based on the penalty amount inflation factor calculation,
derived from originally dividing the June 2015 CPI by the June 1996 CPI
and making the CPI-based annual adjustment thereafter, after rounding
we are adjusting the maximum penalty amount for this CMP to $11,001 per
violation.
III. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking
In developing this final rule, we are waiving the usual notice of
proposed rulemaking and public comment
[[Page 2350]]
procedures set forth in the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553
(APA). The APA provides an exception to the notice and comment
procedures when an agency finds there is good cause for dispensing with
such procedures on the basis that they are impracticable, unnecessary,
or contrary to the public interest. We have determined that under 5
U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) good cause exists for dispensing with the notice of
proposed rulemaking and public comment procedures for this rule.
Specifically, this rulemaking comports and is consistent with the
statutory authority set forth in the Debt Collection Improvement Act of
1996, with no issues of policy discretion. Accordingly, we believe that
opportunity for prior comment is unnecessary and contrary to the public
interest, and we are issuing these revised regulations as a final rule
that will apply to all future cases under this authority.
IV. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess
all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize
net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public
health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). E.O.
13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits,
of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting flexibility.
This is a not significant regulatory action and, therefore, was not
subject to review under Section 6(b) of E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning
and Review, dated September 30, 1993.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has reviewed this final
rule in accordance with the provisions of E.O. 12866 and has determined
that it does not meet the criteria for a significant regulatory action.
As indicated above, the provisions contained in this final rulemaking
set forth the inflation adjustments in compliance with the Debt
Collection Improvement Act of 1996 for specific applicable CMPs. The
great majority of individuals, organizations and entities addressed
through these regulations do not engage in such prohibited conduct, and
as a result, we believe that any aggregate economic impact of these
revised regulations will be minimal, affecting only those limited few
who may engage in prohibited conduct in violation of the statute. As
such, this final rule and the inflation adjustment contained therein
should have no effect on Federal or state expenditures.
V. Congressional Review Act
This rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2). Subtitle E of
the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996
(codified at 5 U.S.C. 801-808), also known as the Congressional Review
Act or CRA, generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the
agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes
a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the
Comptroller General of the United States. GSA will submit a report
containing this rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate,
the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the
United States. A major rule under the CRA cannot take effect until 60
days after it is published in the Federal Register. OIRA has determined
that this is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Administrator of General Services certifies that this final
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small business entities. While some penalties may have an
impact on small business entities, it is the nature of the violation
and not the size of the entity that will result in an action by the
agency, and the aggregate economic impact of this rulemaking on small
business entities should be minimal, affecting only those few who have
engaged in prohibited conduct in violation of statutory intent.
VII. Paperwork Reduction Act
This final rule imposes no new reporting or recordkeeping
requirements necessitating clearance by OMB.
List of Subject in 41 CFR Part 105-70
Administrative hearing, Claims, Program fraud.
Robin Carnahan,
Administrator.
Accordingly, 41 CFR part 105-70 is amended as set forth below:
PART 105-70--IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL REMEDIES ACT
OF 1986
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1. The authority citation for part 105-70 is revised to read as
follows:
Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 31 U.S.C. 3809.
* * * * *
Sec. 105-70.003 [Amended]
0
2. Amend Sec. 105-70.003 by--
0
a. Removing from paragraph (a)(1)(iv) the amount ``11,400'' and adding
``12,100'' in its place; and
0
b. Removing from paragraph (b)(1)(ii) the amount ``11,400'' and adding
``12,100'' in its place.
[FR Doc. 2022-00732 Filed 1-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-81-P
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