[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 5, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E241-E242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SUPPORT OF S. 47, JOHN D. DINGELL, JR. CONSERVATION, MANAGEMENT, AND 
                             RECREATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DOUG COLLINS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 5, 2019

  Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 
47, John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act. 
This legislation is critical to public lands management, and contains 
numerous important provisions.
  This legislation protects three historic sites in my home state of 
Georgia--the Ocmulgee National Monument, Fort Frederica National 
Monument, and Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Park. By doing so, the 
Natural Resources Management Act will provide Georgians with increased 
opportunities to appreciate our public lands.
  Importantly, the Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act also 
includes the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act--legislation I 
have been working on for years.
  I introduced the Open Book for Equal Access to Justice Act with my 
friends Representatives Cohen, Cheney, and Peterson, and Senators 
Barrasso and Coons. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation 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.
  I want to thank my Senate colleagues for including the Open Book on 
Equal Access to Justice Act in S. 47.
  My legislation requires the Administrative Conference of the United 
States (ACUS) 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.
  As made clear in report language in previous years, it is our intent 
that ACUS 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.

[[Page E242]]

  I am encouraged that S. 47 passed the House, and I look forward to 
its implementation.

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