[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1996 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1996

To amend titles 5 and 28, United States Code, with respect to the award 
  of fees and other expenses in cases brought against agencies of the 
 United States, to require the Administrative Conference of the United 
States to compile, and make publically available, certain data relating 
      to the Equal Access to Justice Act, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 25, 2011

     Mrs. Lummis (for herself, Mr. Bishop of Utah, Mr. Thompson of 
   Pennsylvania, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. 
Tipton, Mr. Denham, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Rehberg, Mr. Coffman of Colorado, 
Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Nunes, Mrs. Noem, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Duncan of 
   Tennessee, Mr. Pearce, Mr. Herger, and Mr. Flake) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend titles 5 and 28, United States Code, with respect to the award 
  of fees and other expenses in cases brought against agencies of the 
 United States, to require the Administrative Conference of the United 
States to compile, and make publically available, certain data relating 
      to the Equal Access to Justice Act, 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 ``Government Litigation Savings Act''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE PROVISIONS.

    (a) Agency Proceedings.--
            (1) Eligibility parties; attorney fees.--Section 504 of 
        title 5, United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting after 
                ``prevailing party'' the following: ``who has a direct 
                and personal monetary interest in the adjudication, 
                including because of personal injury, property damage, 
                or unpaid agency disbursement,''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b)(1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 
                        ``$125 per hour'' and all that follows through 
                        ``a higher fee'' and inserting ``$175 per 
                        hour''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``; 
                        except that'' and all that follows through 
                        ``section 601''.
            (2) Reduction or denial of awards.--Section 504(a)(3) of 
        title 5, United States Code, is amended in the first sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``may reduce the amount to be 
                awarded, or deny an award,'' and inserting ``shall 
                reduce the amount to be awarded, or deny an award, 
                commensurate with pro bono hours and related fees and 
                expenses, or'';
                    (B) by striking ``unduly and''; and
                    (C) by striking ``controversy.'' and inserting 
                ``controversy or acted in an obdurate, dilatory, 
                mendacious, or oppressive manner, or in bad faith.''.
            (3) Limitation on awards.--Section 504(a) of title 5, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(5) A party may not receive an award of fees and other expenses 
under this section--
            ``(A) in excess of $200,000 in any single adversary 
        adjudication, or
            ``(B) for more than 3 adversary adjudications initiated in 
        the same calendar year,
unless the adjudicative officer of the agency determines that an award 
exceeding such limits is required to avoid severe and unjust harm to 
the prevailing party.''.
            (4) Reporting in agency adjudications.--Section 504 of such 
        title is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``, United 
                States Code''; and
                    (B) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 
                following:
    ``(e)(1) The Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the 
United States shall issue an annual, online report to the Congress on 
the amount of fees and other expenses awarded during the preceding 
fiscal year pursuant to this section. The report shall describe the 
number, nature, and amount of the awards, the nature of and claims 
involved in each controversy (including the law under which the 
controversy arose), and any other relevant information that may aid the 
Congress in evaluating the scope and impact of such awards. The report 
shall be made available to the public online, and contain a searchable 
database of the total awards given, and the total number of 
applications for the award of fees and other expenses that were filed, 
defended, and heard, and shall include, with respect to each such 
application, the following:
            ``(A) The name of the party seeking the award of fees and 
        other expenses.
            ``(B) The agency to which the application for the award was 
        made.
            ``(C) The names of the administrative law judges in the 
        adversary adjudication that is the subject of the application.
            ``(D) The disposition of the application, including any 
        appeal of action taken on the application.
            ``(E) The amount of each award.
            ``(F) The hourly rates of expert witnesses stated in the 
        application that was awarded.
            ``(G) With respect to each award of fees and other 
        expenses, the basis for the finding that the position of the 
        agency concerned was not substantially justified.
    ``(2)(A) The report under paragraph (1) shall cover payments of 
fees and other expenses under this section that are made pursuant to a 
settlement agreement, regardless of whether the settlement agreement is 
otherwise subject to nondisclosure provisions.
    ``(B) The disclosure of fees and other expenses required under 
subparagraph (A) does not affect any other information that is subject 
to nondisclosure provisions in the settlement agreement.''.
            (5) Adjustment of attorney fees.--Section 504 of such title 
        is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget may 
adjust the maximum hourly fee set forth in subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii) for 
the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2012, and for each fiscal year 
thereafter, to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index, as 
determined by the Secretary of Labor.''.
    (b) Court Cases.--
            (1) Eligibility parties; attorney fees; limitation on 
        awards.--Section 2412(d) of title 28, United States Code, is 
        amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)--
                                    (I) by striking ``in any civil 
                                action'' and all that follows through 
                                ``jurisdiction of that action'' and 
                                inserting ``in the civil action''; and
                                    (II) by striking ``shall award to a 
                                prevailing party other than the United 
                                States'' and inserting the following: 
                                ``, in any civil action (other than 
                                cases sounding in tort), including 
                                proceedings for judicial review of 
                                agency action, brought by or against 
                                the United States in any court having 
                                jurisdiction of that action, shall 
                                award to a prevailing party who has a 
                                direct and personal monetary interest 
                                in the civil action, including because 
                                of personal injury, property damage, or 
                                unpaid agency disbursement, other than 
                                the United States,''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(E) An individual or entity may not receive an award of fees and 
other expenses under this subsection in excess of--
            ``(i) $200,000 in any single civil action, or
            ``(ii) for more than 3 civil actions initiated in the same 
        calendar year,
unless the presiding judge determines that an award exceeding such 
limits is required to avoid severe and unjust harm to the prevailing 
party.'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 
                        ``$125 per hour'' and all that follows through 
                        ``a higher fee'' and inserting ``$175 per 
                        hour''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``; 
                        except that'' and all that follows through 
                        ``section 601''.
            (2) Reduction or denial of awards.--Section 2412(d)(1)(C) 
        of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``, in its discretion, may reduce 
                the amount to be awarded pursuant to this subsection, 
                or deny an award,'' and inserting ``shall reduce the 
                amount to be awarded under this subsection, or deny an 
                award, commensurate with pro bono hours and related 
                fees and expenses, or'';
                    (B) by striking ``unduly and''; and
                    (C) by striking ``controversy.'' and inserting 
                ``controversy or acted in an obdurate, dilatory, 
                mendacious, or oppressive manner, or in bad faith.''.
            (3) Adjustment of attorney fees.--Section 2412(d) of title 
        28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(5) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget may 
adjust the maximum hourly fee set forth in paragraph (2)(A)(ii) for the 
fiscal year beginning October 1, 2012, and for each fiscal year 
thereafter, to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index, as 
determined by the Secretary of Labor.''.
            (4) Reporting.--Section 2412(d) of title 28, United States 
        Code, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(6)(A) The Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the 
United States shall issue an annual, online report to the Congress on 
the amount of fees and other expenses awarded during the preceding 
fiscal year pursuant to this subsection. The report shall describe the 
number, nature, and amount of the awards, the nature of and claims 
involved in each controversy (including the law under which the 
controversy arose), and any other relevant information that may aid the 
Congress in evaluating the scope and impact of such awards. The report 
shall be made available to the public online and shall contain a 
searchable database of total awards given and the total number of cases 
filed, defended, or heard, and shall include with respect to each such 
case the following:
            ``(i) The name of the party seeking the award of fees and 
        other expenses in the case.
            ``(ii) The district court hearing the case.
            ``(iii) The names of the presiding judges in the case.
            ``(iv) The agency involved in the case.
            ``(v) The disposition of the application for fees and other 
        expenses, including any appeal of action taken on the 
        application.
            ``(vi) The amount of each award.
            ``(vii) The hourly rates of expert witnesses stated in the 
        application that was awarded.
            ``(viii) With respect to each award of fees and other 
        expenses, the basis for the finding that the position of the 
        agency concerned was not substantially justified.
    ``(B)(i) The report under subparagraph (A) shall cover payments of 
fees and other expenses under this subsection that are made pursuant to 
a settlement agreement, regardless of whether the settlement agreement 
is otherwise subject to nondisclosure provisions.
    ``(ii) The disclosure of fees and other expenses required under 
clause (i) does not affect any other information that is subject to 
nondisclosure provisions in the settlement agreement.
    ``(C) The Chairman of the Administrative Conference shall include 
in the annual report under subparagraph (A), for each case in which an 
award of fees and other expenses is included in the report--
            ``(i) any amounts paid from section 1304 of title 31 for a 
        judgment in the case;
            ``(ii) the amount of the award of fees and other expenses; 
        and
            ``(iii) the statute under which the plaintiff filed suit.
    ``(D) The Attorney General of the United States shall provide to 
the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States such 
information as the Chairman requests to carry out this paragraph.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--
            (1) Modifications to procedures.--The amendments made by--
                    (A) paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a) 
                shall apply with respect to adversary adjudications 
                commenced on or after the date of the enactment of this 
                Act; and
                    (B) paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) shall 
                apply with respect to civil actions commenced on or 
                after such date of enactment.
            (2) Reporting.--The amendments made by paragraphs (4) and 
        (5) of subsection (a) and by paragraphs (3) and (4) of 
        subsection (b) shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
        of this Act.

SEC. 3. GAO STUDY.

    Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Comptroller General shall commence an audit of the implementation 
of the Equal Access to Justice Act for the years 1995 through the end 
of the calendar year in which this Act is enacted. The Comptroller 
General shall, not later than 1 year after the end of the calendar year 
in which this Act is enacted, complete such audit and submit to the 
Congress a report on the results of the audit.
                                 <all>