Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, there are so many times on this floor that we come down here and we talk about things that divide us, but I have to say, Mr. Cohen and I, we have had so many things that sometimes we don't see eye to eye on, but we are still friends, and this is one of those times where we have been pursuing this one for a long time. This is a bill that I have been very privileged to have him be a part of and sponsor.

H.R. 752, the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act, is to provide transparency and oversight for taxpayer dollars awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act.

Of all the folks who have been cosponsors on this, Mr. Cohen has stood out among all. He has been such a great supporter of this, and it is good to have him with us managing this bill.

I also thank Representatives Cheney and Peterson for being original cosponsors and their continued leadership on this.

Also, Mr. Speaker, because this is, I believe, something we should have passed last Congress, we went ahead and worked it, and, today, we are also excited to have identical legislation that has been introduced in the Senate by Senators Barrasso and Coons.

This bill has previously passed the House unanimously. It is common sense and restores needed congressional and public oversight.

Congress originally passed the Equal Access to Justice Act in 1980 to remove a barrier to justice for those with limited access to the resources it takes to sue the Federal Government and to recover attorney's fees and costs that go along with such suits. The law was meant to give citizens the ability to challenge or defend against unreasonable government actions where they might otherwise be deterred or unable to do so because of large legal expenses.

The Equal Access to Justice Act was intended for true David and Goliath scenarios where a wronged citizen is facing the Federal Government's vast resources. This law has been on the books for decades and remains important. However, since 1995, tracking and reporting requirements on payments under the law have been halted. Without a comprehensive Federal report on the total amount of fees under the law, we have fallen behind in oversight responsibilities and can't tell, in a meaningful way, if that law is still working as intended.

In fact, a Government Accountability Office report indicated that, without any direction to track payments, most agencies simply do not do it. We have only anecdotal evidence about how much we are spending on attorney's fees, the agencies paying out the fees, and what types of claims are being covered.

The Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act reinstates needed transparency and accountability requirements to ensure that the Equal Access to Justice Act is helping individuals, retirees, veterans, and small businesses as intended. It requires the Administrative Conference of the United States to develop an online searchable database that includes information on the number, nature, and amount of the awards; claims involved in the controversy; and other relevant information. Agencies would be required to provide information requested by ACUS for the development and maintenance of the database. Importantly, ACUS would be required to withhold information from the database if disclosure is prohibited by law or court order.

As made clear in report language in previous years, I continue to expect ACUS to take appropriate measures to ensure that individual specific healthcare information, such as an individual's diagnoses and treatments, is not contained in the database. This legislation ensures appropriate protections are in place while facilitating critical public and congressional oversight.

The Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act places agency expenditures under EAJA in view of a watchful public eye and restores scrutiny over taxpayer dollars.

Where the Federal Government is spending money, Congress needs to exercise oversight and ensure it is being done in accordance with the law and congressional intent.

Tracking and reporting requirements preserve the integrity of the Equal Access to Justice Act. They will enable Congress to evaluate the law to make sure it is working effectively for the people it is intended to help. We owe it to small businesses, Social Security claimants, veterans, and similarly situated individuals who rely on the law, faced with the daunting task of taking on the Federal Government, to make sure that it is working.

I look forward to continuing bipartisan efforts to move this bill forward and to the Open Book on Equal Justice Act ultimately becoming law. The consensus behind this legislation reflects the need to address this issue and Americans' right to know how their taxpayer dollars are being spent. It is time we gave them that transparency.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney), who is a cosponsor and our Conference chair. She has been a great supporter of this.

I would also be remiss, Mr. Speaker, to not say that it was her predecessor who introduced me to this issue, Mrs. Lummis, who always seems to be around, and she keeps this agenda in focus as well. I want to say thank you to her for her previous work.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this is definitely an area that I looked forward to. It should have happened last Congress, for my good friend from Tennessee. It is going to happen, I believe, in this Congress. We have both the House and the Senate, and I think this is definitely something the administration will support. I look forward to this becoming law.

This is simply a good bill that opens up transparency and allows us to make better decisions in Congress. That is what we are supposed to be about. Again, I thank my friend from Tennessee for being a cosponsor on this and for being a part of that.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 752) to amend titles 5 and 28, United States Code, to require the maintenance of databases on awards of fees and other expenses to prevailing parties in certain administrative proceedings and court cases to which the United States is a party, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have up to 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 752, the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act, a bill House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Collins and I have worked on together for several years.

The Equal Access to Justice Act was enacted to allow Americans to recover attorneys' fees and costs associated with lawsuits against the Federal Government. This has enabled ordinary citizens, such as veterans, seniors, small business owners, advocates for clean air and clean water, and any other type of citizen to fight unfair or illegal government actions without fear of court costs.

The law has been a success. In 1995, however, an important reporting requirement was removed from it, which made it harder for the public to know how much money the government has awarded. Our bill, the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act reinstates the Equal Access to Justice Act's tracking and reporting requirements with respect to payments awarded so that American people can have access to this important information.

It would do this by requiring ACUS, an acronym for the Administrative Conference of the United States, a highly respected, nonpartisan agency, to prepare an annual report for Congress on the fees and costs awarded in these cases. The reports would also include the number and nature of the claims involved.

In summary, H.R. 752 would promote greater transparency and accountability. Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to join me and Mr. Collins in voting for this measure today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, today, I recognize a lady who served in this Congress named Cynthia Lummis. She was the original cosponsor I had on this bill and worked hard on it and was a very fine Representative.

We also worked with a man named Lowell Baier. Mr. Baier wrote a book called ``Inside the Equal Access to Justice Act: Environmental Litigation and the Crippling Battle over America's Lands, Endangered Species, and Critical Habitats.'' He was a great supporter of this concept, and I want to recognize his efforts as well as Mrs. Lummis'.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, again, I would like to thank all the other people, all the members of the Academy and the producers and directors, but also Ranking Member Collins for his continued partnership on this bill, which passed the House last Congress and almost passed the Senate. We always have to remember the enemy is not the Republicans; it is the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Collin Peterson and Liz Cheney for their efforts as well. I urge my colleagues to pass this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and Republican leader of the Steering Committee, Mr. Collins, as well as my colleague, Mr. Cohen from Tennessee, for their work on this important issue. I thank Chairman Nadler, of course, for helping to bring this important bill to the floor. Of course, I echo my colleagues' fond words for my predecessor, Congresswoman Lummis, and all the work she did over the years on this issue and so many others for our great State. I thank them the opportunity to speak on this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, the Equal Access to Justice Act was enacted in 1980 for good reason: to ensure that private citizens could obtain legal representation in cases against the Federal Government, in cases where it was deserved.

While the Equal Access to Justice Act serves that important purpose in holding these Federal agencies accountable, in the past 20 years, we have seen this process abused too often by outside organizations. This program was intended to help everyday citizens seek justice, but those seeking profits have also had access to this program. They have effectively turned the Equal Access to Justice Act into their own personal wallet through frivolous lawsuits. This program was never intended to be a slush fund for serial litigators.

Making matters worse, the perversion of the Equal Access to Justice Act is funded by American taxpayers. Americans are footing the legal and attorney's fees of groups that are impeding critical activities, especially on Federal lands in my home State of Wyoming and in others.

It is clear that the Equal Access to Justice Act needs modernizing, and H.R. 752 is the first step toward that goal. This legislation still affords citizens, organizations, and other affected parties the same right to financial rewards in a prevailing lawsuit, but it finally would establish transparency and accountability for these funds.

Under H.R. 752, an online database detailing funds awarded to prevailing parties, the agency, and the party involved in the case, and a description of these claims, will be made available to the American people. This provides accountability and transparency not only to outside organizations, but to our Federal agencies and, most importantly, to the American people. The American people have a right to know how their hard-earned money is spent, and this legislation takes a crucial step toward doing just that.

I am pleased, Mr. Speaker, to support this important legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it as well.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 752 ``Open Book Equal Access to Justice Act'' which will amend titles 5 and 28, United States Code, to require the maintenance of databases on awards of fees

and other expenses to prevailing parties in certain administrative proceedings and court cases to which the United States is a party, and for other purposes.

In 1980, Congress passed the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) as a means to help individuals, retirees, veterans, and small businesses recover attorney's fees and costs associated with suing the federal government.

Congress intended the EAJA to remove a barrier to justice for those with limited access to the resources it takes to sue the federal government.

Payments of EAJA attorney's fees come from the budget of the agency who action gave rise to the claim.

While the original EAJA legislation included a requirement to track payments and report to Congress annually, Congress and the agencies halted tracking and reporting of payments made through EAJA in 1995.

Without any direction to track payments, most agencies simply do not do it and Congress and taxpayers are unable to exercise oversight over these funds.

H.R. 752 reinstates the tracking and reporting requirements of the original EAJA legislation by requiring the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) to develop an online, searchable database to facilitate public and Congressional oversight over the program.

This will allow public access to information on the amount of attorney's fees being paid under EAJA, to whom the taxpayers' money is being paid, and from which agencies.

The Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act helps ensure that agencies are operating under the public eye and that taxpayer dollars are being spent effectively and properly.

Allowing plaintiffs to recoup legal costs when they sue the federal government for reparations they deserve is only fair.

Many Americans do not have the resources to take on our sprawling bureaucracy, but EAJA gave them the power to do that by removing a barrier to justice for those with limited access to resources.

Since the original reporting requirements were halted by Congress, there is no information on payments made under the law.

Tracking and reporting payments will help preserve the integrity of this law and help Congress make sure it is working effectively for the people it was intended to help.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for H.R. 752.