[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1712 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1712

To increase transparency in the payment of judgments and settlements by 
                   agencies, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 13, 2011

Mr. Brown of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. Tester, Mr. Barrasso, and 
 Ms. Collins) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To increase transparency in the payment of judgments and settlements by 
                   agencies, 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 ``Transparency in Judgment Payments 
Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF PAYMENTS.

    Section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(d)(1) Not later than 30 days after the payment of a final 
judgment, award, or compromise settlement under this section, the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall publish electronically (including on a 
dedicated, publicly accessible Web site), in a manner consistent with 
applicable Federal privacy law--
            ``(A) the agency responsible for the payment;
            ``(B) a citation to the provision of law under which the 
        claim was made;
            ``(C) the amount to be paid;
            ``(D) the amount of any interest to be paid;
            ``(E) the amount of any attorney fees to be paid; and
            ``(F) for any case filed in a court--
                    ``(i) the case number for the case that resulted in 
                the judgment, award, or settlement; and
                    ``(ii) the court in which the case was filed.
    ``(2) The information published under paragraph (1) shall contain 
separate sections for claims filed in court and administrative claims.
    ``(3)(A) The Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the 
Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 
and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
Representatives a quarterly report that contains--
            ``(i) any information published under paragraph (1) during 
        the preceding quarter; and
            ``(ii) a confidential appendix that includes, for each case 
        or claim described in clause (i), the identity of the 
        plaintiff, counsel for the plaintiff, and the defendant.
    ``(B) A report under subparagraph (A) shall be exempt from 
disclosure under section 552 of title 5. For purposes of section 552 of 
title 5, this paragraph shall be considered a statute described in 
subsection (b)(3)(B) of such section 552.''.

SEC. 3. LITIGATION MANAGEMENT.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 613. Litigation management
    ``(a) Each agency, in consultation with the Attorney General of the 
United States and consistent with applicable Federal privacy law, shall 
submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of 
the House of Representatives an annual report describing--
            ``(1) any civil action filed or pending against the agency 
        or any employee of the agency; and
            ``(2) any settlements entered by or final judgments entered 
        against the agency or any employee of the agency.
    ``(b) The report required under subsection (a) shall include--
            ``(1) a summary of--
                    ``(A) the number of civil actions filed, pending, 
                or settled;
                    ``(B) the number of civil actions for which more 
                than 36 months have passed since the date the action 
                was filed;
                    ``(C) the number of claims--
                            ``(i) made under a statute or regulation; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) alleging a violation of a statute or 
                        regulation;
                    ``(D) the number of judgments entered for and 
                against the agency;
                    ``(E) the number of settlements or consent decrees 
                involving the agency;
                    ``(F) the number of judgments entered under seal;
                    ``(G) the number of settlements or consent decrees 
                involving a confidentiality agreement or order;
                    ``(H) the total amount of all judgments, 
                settlements, and attorney fees paid by or on behalf of 
                the agency; and
                    ``(I) the total number of agency rulemakings or 
                other actions commenced due to a judgment or 
                settlement;
            ``(2) for each filed or pending civil action, a summary of 
        the action that--
                    ``(A) describes--
                            ``(i) the nature of the action;
                            ``(ii) the cause of action asserted, 
                        including specific statutory references;
                            ``(iii) the nature and amount of relief 
                        requested;
                            ``(iv) whether the plaintiff is a party to 
                        any other litigation against the agency;
                            ``(v) whether a claim for attorney fees has 
                        been made, and if so, the statutory basis for 
                        the claim;
                            ``(vi) the date the action was filed; and
                            ``(vii) whether more than 36 months have 
                        passed since the date the action was filed; and
                    ``(B) identifies--
                            ``(i) the court, the presiding judge, and 
                        the case number; and
                            ``(ii) the plaintiff and counsel for the 
                        plaintiff; and
            ``(3) for each settlement or final judgment, except a 
        settlement or final judgment described in paragraph (4), a 
        summary of the civil action that includes--
                    ``(A) the nature of the civil action;
                    ``(B) the amount of the payment or other relief 
                granted or agreed;
                    ``(C) the amount of attorneys fees paid; and
                    ``(D) the nature of any rulemaking or other agency 
                action commenced due to the settlement or judgment; and
            ``(4) for each settlement or final judgment involving a 
        judgment under seal or a confidentiality agreement or order--
                    ``(A) the parties to the settlement or final 
                judgment; and
                    ``(B) each cause of action alleged in the 
                complaint.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``613. Litigation management.''.
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