[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1924 Reported in House (RH)]






                                                 Union Calendar No. 574
106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 1924

                          [Report No. 106-976]

  To prevent Federal agencies from pursuing policies of unjustifiable 
nonacquiescence in, and relitigation of, precedents established in the 
                        Federal judicial courts.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 25, 1999

  Mr. Gekas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

                            October 12, 2000

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 25, 
                                 1999]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prevent Federal agencies from pursuing policies of unjustifiable 
nonacquiescence in, and relitigation of, precedents established in the 
                        Federal judicial courts.

    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 ``Federal Agency Compliance Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITING AGENCY NON-ACQUIESCENCE IN APPELLATE PRECEDENT.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 707. Adherence to court of appeals precedent
    ``(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), an agency (as defined 
in section 701(b)(1) of this title) shall in civil matters, in 
administering a statute, rule, regulation, program, or policy within a 
judicial circuit, adhere to the existing precedent respecting the 
interpretation and application of such statute, rule, regulation, 
program, or policy, as established by the decisions of the United 
States court of appeals for that circuit.
    ``(b) An agency is not precluded under subsection (a) from taking a 
position, either in an administrative proceeding or in litigation, that 
is at variance with precedent established by a United States court of 
appeals if--
            ``(1) it is not certain whether the administration of the 
        statute, rule, regulation, program, or policy will be subject 
        to review exclusively by the court of appeals that established 
        that precedent or a court of appeals for another circuit;
            ``(2) the Government did not seek further review of the 
        case in which that precedent was first established, in that 
        court of appeals or the United States Supreme Court, because--
                    ``(A) neither the United States nor any agency or 
                officer thereof was a party to the case; or
                    ``(B) the Solicitor General determines or the 
                agency officer responsible for such determination 
                determines the decision establishing that precedent was 
                otherwise substantially favorable to the agency; or
            ``(3) it is reasonable to question the continued validity 
        of that precedent in light of a subsequent decision of that 
        court of appeals or the United States Supreme Court, a 
        subsequent change in any pertinent statute or regulation, or 
        any other subsequent change in the public policy or 
        circumstances on which that precedent was based.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 7 of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following new item:

``707. Adherence to court of appeals precedent.''.

SEC. 3. AVOIDING UNNECESSARILY REPETITIVE LITIGATION.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 708. Avoiding unnecessarily repetitive litigation
    ``In supervising the conduct of civil litigation, the officers of 
any agency of the United States authorized to conduct litigation, 
including the Department of Justice acting under sections 516 and 519 
of title 28, United States Code, should seek to ensure that the 
initiation, defense, and continuation of proceedings in the courts of 
the United States, within, or subject to the jurisdiction of, a 
particular judicial circuit, avoids unnecessarily repetitive litigation 
on questions of law already uniformly resolved against the United 
States in 3 or more courts of appeals. A decision on whether to iniate, 
defend, or continue litigation is not subject to review in any court by 
mandamus or otherwise on the grounds that the decision violates this 
section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 7 of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following new item:

``708. Avoiding unnecessarily repetitive litigation.''.




                                                 Union Calendar No. 574

106th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 1924

                          [Report No. 106-976]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To prevent Federal agencies from pursuing policies of unjustifiable 
nonacquiescence in, and relitigation of, precedents established in the 
                        Federal judicial courts.

_______________________________________________________________________

                            October 12, 2000

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed