Private Attorneys: Selected Attorneys' Fee Awards Against Nine Federal
Agencies in 1993 and 1994 (Letter Report, 10/31/95, GAO/GGD-96-18).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on
selected attorneys' fee awards against nine federal agencies in 1993 and
1994, focusing on the number of cases and amount of attorneys' fees
awarded over $10,000.

GAO found that: (1) the 9 federal agencies reported 441 plaintiff
attorneys' fee awards that totalled about $20 million; (2) the highest
single fee awarded during this 2-year period was $800,000 against the
Department of Housing and Urban Development and the highest hourly
attorney rate was $320 per hour for the Department of Health and Human
Services, the Treasury, and the General Services Administration; (3) the
agencies reported that 4 of the attorneys' fee awards were based on a
percentage of the plaintiff's award, 179 awards were based on hourly
rates, and 263 awards were based on lump-sum payments; (4) of the 441
attorneys' fee awards against the government, 210 were from
administrative proceedings and 231 were from judicial proceedings; (5)
there were differences in the reported amounts of attorneys' fee awards
due to administrative and reporting problems associated with the annual
reports; and (6) attorneys' fee awards paid from the Judgement Fund
totalled $11.65 million in fiscal year 1993.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  GGD-96-18
     TITLE:  Private Attorneys: Selected Attorneys' Fee Awards Against 
             Nine Federal Agencies in 1993 and 1994
      DATE:  10/31/95
   SUBJECT:  Legal fees
             Administrative hearings
             Lawyers
             Claims settlement
             Federal agencies
             Expense claims
             Judicial procedure
             Reporting requirements
IDENTIFIER:  PHS National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program
             Judgment Fund
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Report to the Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Oversight of
Government Management and the District of Columbia, Committee on
Government Affairs, U.S.  Senate

October 1995

PRIVATE ATTORNEYS - SELECTED
ATTORNEYS' FEE AWARDS AGAINST NINE
FEDERAL AGENCIES IN 1993 AND 1994

GAO/GGD-96-18

Attorneys' Fee Awards

(182009)


Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  CRS - Congressional Research Service
  GSA - General Services Administration
  HHS - Department of Health and Human Services
  HUD - Department of Housing and Urban Development

Letter
=============================================================== LETTER


B-259798

October 31, 1995

The Honorable Carl Levin
Ranking Minority Member
Subcommittee on Oversight
 of Government Management
 and the District of Columbia
Committee on Governmental Affairs
United States Senate

Dear Senator Levin: 

On June 22, 1994, you requested that we provide information on (1)
attorneys' fee awards paid to bid protesters by federal agencies and
(2) attorneys' fees awarded under other provisions of law in suits
against the government.  Our November 1994 fact sheet\1 responded to
part one of your request.  This report responds to part two of your
request. 

As agreed with your office, we are reporting data on the number of
cases and amount of plaintiff attorneys' fees awarded over $10,000
against nine federal agencies,\2 for cases closed during fiscal years
1993 and 1994.  These data include the highest individual fees and
hourly rates awarded under federal statutes against the nine federal
agencies.  The nine agencies are the Departments of Defense, Health
and Human Services (HHS),\3 Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the
Interior, Justice, Transportation, and the Treasury; the General
Services Administration (GSA); and the U.S.  Postal Service\4 .  In
addition, we are providing attorneys' fee awards data reported in the
fiscal year 1993 Equal Access to Justice Act annual reports\5 and
attorneys' fee awards paid from the Judgment Fund\6 during fiscal
years 1993 and 1994. 


--------------------
\1 Bid Protests:  Attorneys' Fees Paid to Bid Protesters by Federal
Agencies (GAO/GGD-95-17FS, Nov.  7, 1994). 

\2 The scope of our work was limited to nine agencies and individual
attorneys' fee awards over $10,000 because a data system on plaintiff
attorneys' fee awards did not exist, and it would have placed a
hardship on agencies to manually collect award case file data on all
cases closed during the 2-year period. 

\3 HHS did not provide data on attorneys' fee awards over $10,000 for
Social Security Administration cases.  It said that attorneys' fee
awards were paid in thousands of cases, and it would be too
burdensome to search these cases to find those that met our criteria. 
Many attorneys' fee awards against the Social Security Administration
were awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act.  Also, because of
the large volume of cases, HHS said it reviewed about one-half of the
cases under the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.  It provided
information on 64 cases that met our criteria. 

\4 The U.S.  Postal Service is an independent establishment in the
executive branch.  In this report, we refer to it as a federal
agency. 

\5 The Attorney General and the Chairman of the Administrative
Conference of the United States must report annually to Congress on
the amount of attorneys' fees and other expenses awarded under
certain provisions of the act during the preceding fiscal year. 

\6 The Judgment Fund is used to pay for certain awards against the
United States, sometimes including awards of attorneys' fees under
judgments, settlements, and certain other administrative proceedings,
when agency appropriations may not be used. 


   BACKGROUND
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :1

Generally, the federal government may not be assessed attorneys' fee
awards unless such awards are expressly authorized by law.  The
Congressional Research Service (CRS) identified approximately 180
federal statutes that authorize awards of attorneys' fees against the
government in certain cases where an opposing party prevails against
the government.\7 Many of the statutes that authorize the award of
attorneys' fees against the government specify that payment of those
awards shall come from agency appropriations.  Some of these statutes
authorize a set hourly rate or a percentage of the plaintiff's award
amount for determining attorneys' fee awards.  Most of these statutes
authorize reasonable attorneys' fees but do not specify how they are
to be calculated. 

One key statute, the Equal Access to Justice Act, allows a party who
prevails against the United States to recover attorneys' fees and
other expenses under certain circumstances.  Portions of the act,
codified at 5 U.S.C.  504, allow specific categories of prevailing
parties\8 to recover reasonable attorney fees, expert witness
expenses, and related costs in adversary adjudications\9

in administrative proceedings unless the hearing officer finds that
the agency's position was substantially justified or that special
circumstances make an award unjust.  Under section 504, attorney fee
rates are limited to $75 per hour unless the agency determines by
regulation that an increase in the cost of living or a special
factor, such as the limited availability of qualified attorneys or
agents for the proceedings involved, justifies a higher fee.  Fees
and expenses awarded under section 504 are paid by the agency over
which the party prevails from any funds made available to the agency
by appropriation or otherwise. 

Portions of the act, codified at 28 U.S.C.  2412(b), authorize a
court to award reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses to a
prevailing party in civil actions brought by or against the United
States.  Under this subsection, the United States is to be liable for
such fees to the same extent that any other party would be liable
under the common law or under the terms of any federal statute that
specifically provides for the award of such fees. 

Subsection 2412(d) provides that a court shall award fees and other
expenses to a party prevailing against the United States in any
nontort civil action unless the court finds that the position of the
United States was substantially justified or that special
circumstances make an award unjust.  Under this subsection, the
hourly rate for attorney fees is not to exceed $75 per hour unless
the court determines that an increase in the cost of living or a
special factor, such as the limited availability of qualified
attorneys for the proceedings involved, justifies a higher fee.  Fees
and expenses awarded under this subsection are to be paid by the
agency over which the party prevails from any funds made available to
the agency by appropriation or otherwise. 

The Equal Access to Justice Act requires that attorneys' fees and
other expenses awarded under the act be reported annually to
Congress.\10 The Attorney General is to report attorneys' fees and
expenses awarded in certain judicial proceedings, and the Chairman of
the Administrative Conference of the United States is to report
attorneys' fees and expenses awarded in administrative proceedings. 

The Judgment Fund is a permanent, indefinite appropriation that is
jointly administered by us and the Departments of Justice and the
Treasury.  Congress established the Judgment Fund to pay awards,
sometimes including attorneys' fees and other costs, under judgments,
compromise settlements, and certain other administrative proceedings
when agencies are not authorized to pay awards with their
appropriated funds or other funds available to them.\11


--------------------
\7 Awards of Attorneys' Fees by Federal Courts and Federal Agencies
(CRS 94-970A, Nov.  28, 1994). 

\8 In order for the prevailing party to be paid attorneys' fees under
5 U.S.C.  504 and 28 U.S.C.  2412(d), it must be a "party" as defined
in the act.  In general, both provisions define "party" as an
individual with net worth of not more than $2 million at the time the
action was filed; any owner of an unincorporated business, or any
corporation, partnership, association, local governmental unit or
organization, with a net worth of not more than $7 million and not
more than 500 employees at the time the action was filed; or a
tax-exempt organization under 26 U.S.C.  501(c)(3) or an agricultural
cooperative under 12 U.S.C.  1141j(a) regardless of net worth. 

\9 These are defined to include adjudications under 5 U.S.C.  554
(i.e., adjudications under the Administrative Procedure Act) in which
the United States is represented by counsel, with the exception of
adjudications for the purpose of granting or renewing a license or
for the purpose of establishing or fixing a rate, as well as contract
dispute proceedings before agency boards of contract appeals under 41
U.S.C.  607, hearings conducted under chapter 38 of title 31, and
proceedings under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. 

\10 Department of Justice and Administrative Conference of the United
States officials told us about some data reporting problems.  (See
app.  II for more information on data problems.)

\11 It should be noted that some of the attorneys' fee awards
reported by certain agencies may have been paid from the Judgment
Fund.  Therefore, the same fee awards may have been included in (1)
the attorneys' fee awards reported to us by some agencies and (2) the
attorneys' fee awards reported under the Judgment Fund. 


   RESULTS IN BRIEF
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :2

The 9 federal agencies reported 441 plaintiff attorneys' fee
awards\12 over $10,000 during fiscal years 1993 and 1994.  These
awards totaled about $20 million and were authorized under 19 federal
statutes, including awards under the Equal Access to Justice Act. 
The highest single attorney's fee awarded during this 2-year period
was $800,000 against HUD.  The highest single hourly attorney rate,
$320 per hour, was awarded in separate cases against three agencies: 
HHS, the Treasury, and GSA. 

The 9 agencies reported that 4 of the attorneys' fee awards were
based on a percentage of the plaintiff's award, 179 were based on an
hourly rate, and 263 were lump-sum payments.\13 The 9 agencies
reported that of these 441 attorneys' fee awards against the
government, 210 were from administrative proceedings and 231 were
from judicial proceedings.\14 Of the 441 awards, 276 awards were the
result of settlement agreements.  Of the 276 awards, 153 were from
administrative proceedings, and 123 were from judicial proceedings. 
(See app.  I for more information on these awards.)

According to the Equal Access to Justice Act annual reports,
attorneys' fee awards authorized under this act totaled $1.3 million
in fiscal year 1993, $1 million from judicial proceedings and $0.3
million from administrative proceedings.  However, the fee awards
under the act of over $10,000 reported to us by the nine agencies
totaled $3 million and $0.3 million, respectively.  Officials of the
Department of Justice and Administrative Conference of the United
States attributed the differences in the amounts reported by the two
sources to administrative and reporting problems associated with the
annual reports.  Fiscal year 1994 annual reports were not available
at the time of our review.  (See app.  II for more information on
these awards.)

In fiscal year 1993, attorneys' fee awards paid from the Judgment
Fund totaled $11.6 million.  Attorneys' fee awards of $12.2 million
were paid from the Fund in fiscal year 1994.  (See app.  III for more
information on these awards.)


--------------------
\12 This number also represents the number of cases involved. 

\13 Two award methods were reported for 8 of the 441 cases, and no
award method was reported for 3 cases. 

\14 The administrative category also includes grievance arbitration
and settlements under Merit Systems Protection Board actions that
some agencies reported under the category "other."


   SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :3

Because of work we performed in 1992,\15 we were aware of the large
number of cases in which the federal government (38 agencies) had
paid attorneys' fee awards to prevailing parties; the lack of
centralized, computerized data on these cases; and the hardship the
agencies or we would face in collecting and reviewing data on these
cases.  Therefore, as agreed with your office, we limited our data
collection efforts to the nine federal agencies that our prior report
indicated paid the highest amount of attorneys' fees in fiscal year
1991. 

To determine the number of cases, award amounts, highest individual
fees, and highest hourly rates of plaintiff attorneys' fees awarded
under federal statutes, we attempted to collect data on attorneys'
fee awards against these agencies during fiscal years 1993 and 1994. 
However, the nine agencies' automated records systems did not contain
the detailed information we needed.  Therefore, we also agreed to
limit our work to plaintiff attorneys' fee awards over $10,000 for
the nine agencies during the 2 fiscal years.\16 We arbitrarily
selected $10,000 to limit the number of cases agencies would have to
research to satisfy our request.  In addition, we did not ask for
information on actions where the plaintiff was awarded a total
payment in which the attorneys' fees were not separated out.  In
those cases, it was not possible to identify the specific amount of
attorneys' fees awarded. 

To obtain detailed information on attorneys' fee awards, we developed
a survey instrument.  A copy of the instrument is provided in
appendix IV.  Our survey instructions asked the nine agencies to
complete one form for each award.  We asked that a contact person in
each agency distribute the forms to and collect them from the
components involved in attorneys' fee awards.  We relied on these
contact persons to ensure that the agencies submitted all requested
information on all relevant cases.  We did not verify the accuracy of
the data agencies provided to us. 

To obtain broader information on attorneys' fee awards against the
federal government, we obtained data on the Equal Access to Justice
Act awards and on the Judgment Fund.  To determine the Equal Access
to Justice Act attorneys' fee awards data for fiscal year 1993, we
obtained the fiscal year 1993 annual reports from the Attorney
General and the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the
United States.  Data from these annual reports are presented in
appendix II.  (Although the fiscal year 1994 annual report on
attorney fees paid under the Equal Access to Justice Act for judicial
proceedings was available, the other annual report dealing with
attorney fees paid for administrative proceedings was not available
at the time of our review.  Therefore, we did not include in this
report any of the data presented in the fiscal year 1994 annual
reports.)

We obtained Judgment Fund disbursement data for fiscal years 1993 and
1994 from our Office of the General Counsel.  We are responsible for
certifying payments from the Judgment Fund.  Data on the Judgment
Fund are presented in appendix III. 

We did our work between November 1994 and August 1995 in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards. 


--------------------
\15 Private Attorneys:  Information on the Federal Government's Use
of Private Attorneys (GAO/GGD-93-17FS, Oct.  20, 1992). 

\16 The report data understates the actual amount of money being paid
out by the government in private attorneys' fees because of factors
such as (1) all agencies were not canvassed and (2) some agencies
paid numerous awards of less than $10,000. 


   AGENCY COMMENTS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :4

On September 1, 1995, we provided a draft of this report to the
Secretaries of Defense, HHS, HUD, the Interior, Transportation, and
the Treasury; the Attorney General; the Administrator of GSA; the
Postmaster General; and the Chairman of the Administrative Conference
of the United States for their comments. 

The Postal Service and the Departments of HHS, Justice, the Interior,
Transportation, and the Treasury had no comments on the report.  The
Administrative Conference of the United States and GSA had a few
technical comments that we incorporated where appropriate. 

Defense and HUD provided written comments on the draft.  These
comments are presented in appendixes V and VI.  These agencies
generally agreed with the information presented in this report, and
HUD provided technical clarifications that we incorporated where
appropriate.  HUD commented that the attorneys' fees paid by the
Department increased significantly over the past several years
because it had successfully settled or is now settling complex public
housing and civil rights cases that were initiated in the 1980s.  HUD
also explained that the highest individual attorney's fee award
mentioned in this report, the $800,000 Equal Access to Justice Act
payment that was awarded against it, was negotiated as a lump-sum
payment.  According to HUD, this litigation was pending for 4 years,
and the court could have awarded attorneys' fees in this case for
approximately $1.25 million. 


---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :4.1

As agreed with your office, we plan no further distribution of this
report for 30 days.  At that time, we will send copies to other
congressional committees and to the Secretaries of Defense, HHS, HUD,
the Interior, Transportation, and the Treasury and to the Attorney
General, the Administrator of GSA, and the Postmaster General.  We
will also send copies to other interested parties and make copies
available to others upon request. 

The major contributors to this report are listed in appendix VII. 
Please contact me on (202) 512-8777 if you have any questions
concerning this report. 

Sincerely yours,

Norman J.  Rabkin
Director, Administration
 of Justice Issues


ATTORNEYS' FEES OVER $10,000
AWARDED AGAINST NINE AGENCIES IN
FISCAL YEARS 1993 AND 1994
=========================================================== Appendix I

The 9 agencies we surveyed reported 441 awards of plaintiff
attorneys' fees over $10,000 during fiscal years 1993 and 1994. 
These awards were authorized under 19 federal statutes and totaled
about $20 million.  The highest individual attorney's fee award was
$800,000, authorized under the Equal Access to Justice Act and
awarded against the Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD).  The highest individual hourly rate awarded was $320.  This
hourly rate was awarded in separate cases against three agencies: 
(1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), (2) the
Department of the Treasury, and (3) the General Services
Administration (GSA). 


   TOTAL AGENCY AWARDS RANGED FROM
   ABOUT $90,000 TO $1.9 MILLION
   DURING THE 2 FISCAL YEARS
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:1

Awards over $10,000 reported by the nine agencies totaled $8.3
million during fiscal year 1993.  The total agency awards in fiscal
year 1993 ranged from about $90,000 against HUD to more than $1.6
million against the Department of the Treasury.  The number of awards
against the 9 agencies ranged from 4 at HUD to 45 at HHS. 

In fiscal year 1994, awards against the nine agencies totaled almost
$11.6 million.  Total agency awards ranged from about $219,000
against GSA to almost $1.9 million against the Department of Defense. 
The number of awards in fiscal year 1994 ranged from 7 against GSA to
47 against HHS. 

Table I.1 lists the number and amount of awards against the nine
agencies for fiscal years 1993 and 1994. 



                               Table I.1
                
                  Number and Amount of Attorneys' Fees
                 Over $10,000 Awarded Against the Nine
                 Agencies During Fiscal Years 1993 and
                                  1994


Agency                      Number      Amount      Number      Amount
----------------------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
Defense                         21    $803,639          35  $1,862,333
HHS                             45   1,451,618          47   1,647,999
HUD                              4      89,801          13   1,372,121
Interior                        13     695,787          29   1,747,121
Justice                         17   1,548,899          27   1,740,055
Transportation                  10     208,566          15     531,830
Treasury                        30   1,649,657          38   1,357,930
GSA                              5     251,387           7     219,399
Postal Service                  39   1,532,471          46   1,088,331
======================================================================
Total                          184  $8,231,825         257  $11,567,11
                                                                     9
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  Totals may not add due to rounding. 

Source:  GAO analysis of data reported by the nine agencies. 

Table I.2 lists the number and amount of attorneys' fees over $10,000
awarded during fiscal years 1993 and 1994 against the nine agency
components with the highest aggregate amount of attorneys' fees. 



                               Table I.2
                
                 Awards Against Components of the Nine
                  Agencies With the Highest Aggregate
                Amount of Plaintiff Attorneys' Fees Over
                  $10,000 During Fiscal Years 1993 and
                                  1994

Agency/component                                 Number         Amount
----------------------------------------  -------------  -------------
Defense
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Army Corps of Engineers                              10       $939,814

HHS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau of Health Professions                         64      1,193,625

HUD
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Litigation and Fair Housing Enforcement               7      1,121,092

Interior
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau of Reclamation                                 2        603,163

Justice
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Immigration and Naturalization Service               17      1,059,176

Transportation
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Aviation Administration                      19        492,460

Treasury
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Revenue Service                             43      1,573,785

GSA
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Regional Counsel                                      3         68,827

Postal Service
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Law Department                                       22     $1,405,896
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source:  GAO analysis of data reported by the nine agencies. 


   THE HIGHEST NUMBER AND AMOUNT
   OF AWARDS AGAINST THE NINE
   AGENCIES WERE AUTHORIZED UNDER
   THE EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:2

More than 27 percent (123) of the reported awards over $10,000 for
fiscal years 1993 and 1994 against the nine agencies were authorized
under the Equal Access to Justice Act.  Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 accounted for
the second (108) and third (87) largest number of awards against
these agencies.  Fewer than 7 awards each against these agencies were
authorized under 14 of the 19 statutes. 

In addition, the highest amount of attorneys' fee awards against the
nine agencies were authorized under the Equal Access to Justice Act
for both fiscal years, totaling over $9.4 million.  The second and
third largest total award amounts against these agencies were
authorized under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ($3.7
million) and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 ($2.4 million). 
The smallest total award amounts against these agencies were
authorized under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Civil
Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act, Contract Disputes Act, and Postal
Reorganization Act.  These award amounts totaled less than $27,000
per act. 

Table I.3 lists the federal statutes authorizing attorneys' fee
awards over $10,000 for the cases as reported by the nine agencies
during these 2 fiscal years. 



                               Table I.3
                
                  Number and Amount of Attorneys' Fee
                   Awards Over $10,000 Authorized by
                   Statute Against the Nine Agencies,
                       Fiscal Years 1993 and 1994


Authorizing federal
statute                        Number     Amount     Number     Amount
--------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Equal Access to Justice Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5 U.S.C. section 504(a)(1)         15   $437,700         21   $907,052

28 U.S.C. section 2412             36  2,832,642         51  5,268,533

Privacy Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5 U.S.C. section 552a               0          0          1     51,813

Freedom of Information Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5 U.S.C. section                    1     19,515          2     55,401
 552(a)(4)(E)

Whistleblower Protection Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5 U.S.C. section                    0          0          1     92,625
 1221(g)

Civil Service Reform Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5 U.S.C. section                    4    107,016         10    303,516
 5596(b)(1)
5 U.S.C. section                   25    758,160         48  1,190,931
 7701(g)

National Historic Preservation Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
16 U.S.C. section                   0          0          1    180,000
 470w-4

Endangered Species Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
16 U.S.C. section                   2    287,500          2     71,000
 1540(g)(4)

Internal Revenue Code
----------------------------------------------------------------------
26 U.S.C. section                  15    661,963         11    482,455
 7430

Fair Labor Standards Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
29 U.S.C. section                   2    711,166          1     12,000
 216(b)

Age Discrimination in
Employment Act of 1967
----------------------------------------------------------------------
29 U.S.C. section                   1     11,400          1     15,000
 626(b)

Rehabilitation Act of 1973
----------------------------------------------------------------------
29 U.S.C. section                   1     12,857          3     64,800
 794a

Surface Mining Control
and Reclamation Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
30 U.S.C. section                   1     45,000          5    123,941
 1275(e)

Water Pollution Prevention
and Control Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
33 U.S.C. section                   1     53,000          1     16,000
 1365(d)

Postal Reorganization Act\a
----------------------------------------------------------------------
39 U.S.C. section                   0          0          1     22,750
 1208(b)

Federal Property and
Administrative Services Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
40 U.S.C. section                   1     57,016          1     42,043
 759(f)(5)(C)

Contract Disputes Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
41 U.S.C. section                   0          0          1     17,858
 607

National Childhood Vaccine
Injury Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
42 U.S.C. section                  32    560,433         32    633,192
 300aa-15(b)

Civil Rights Attorneys' Fees
Awards Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
42 U.S.C. section                   0          0          2     22,679
 1988

Civil Rights Act of
1964, title VII
----------------------------------------------------------------------
42 U.S.C. section                  47  1,676,456         61  1,993,529
 2000e-5(k)
======================================================================
Total                             184  $8,231,82        257  $11,567,1
                                               4                    18
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  Totals may not add due to rounding. 

\a According to a U.S.  Postal Service official, plaintiff's award
was made under 39 U.S.C.  1208(b).  Although the statute does not
specifically authorize attorneys' fee awards, the official stated
that the Postal Service interprets case law under this statute as
giving it the authority to pay attorneys' fees. 

Source:  GAO analysis of data reported by the nine agencies. 


   HUD REPORTED THE HIGHEST
   INDIVIDUAL ATTORNEYS' FEE AWARD
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:3

The highest individual plaintiff attorney's fee award was a lump-sum,
negotiated fee settlement of $800,000 against HUD's Office of
Litigation and Fair Housing Enforcement.  The Department of the
Interior reported the second highest fee award ($575,000), the Postal
Service reported the third highest ($541,000), and the lowest fee
award reported was $119,111 by the Department of Transportation. 
Table I.4 shows the three highest individual attorneys' fees over
$10,000 awarded against each agency during fiscal years 1993 and
1994. 



                               Table I.4
                
                  Highest Three Attorneys' Fee Awards
                 Amounts Reported by the Nine Agencies
                   During Fiscal Years 1993 and 1994

                                                    Second       Third
                                       Highest     highest     highest
Agency                               fee award   fee award   fee award
----------------------------------  ----------  ----------  ----------
Defense                               $401,531    $235,000    $140,000
HHS                                    349,737     255,614     160,000
HUD                                    800,000     134,721     100,000
Interior                               575,000     220,000     180,000
Justice                                400,000     400,000     335,553
Transportation                         119,111      92,625      50,000
Treasury                               327,123     195,000     187,017
GSA                                    128,858      55,160      49,000
Postal Service                        $541,166    $190,000    $185,669
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source:  GAO analysis of data reported by the nine agencies. 


   HIGHEST HOURLY ATTORNEYS' FEE
   RATE AWARDED
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:4

As reported by the nine agencies, of the attorneys' fee awards over
$10,000, the highest hourly attorney's fee rate was $320 per hour. 
This fee was awarded to plaintiff attorneys in actions against HHS,
the Treasury, and GSA. 

Of the 179 cases in which attorneys' fees were awarded on the basis
of an hourly rate, 153 were awarded as billed by the plaintiff
attorneys.  More than one hourly rate was reported in 52 of these
cases.  For example, a case may have included several rates for
multiple attorneys and for paralegals and clerks.  A total of 310
hourly rates was reported in the 153 cases.  Table I.5 shows the
three highest hourly rates that were awarded by the plaintiff
attorney for all nine agencies.\1



                                    Table I.5
                     
                       Highest Three Hourly Attorneys' Fee
                     Awards Against the Nine Agencies, Fiscal
                               Years 1993 and 1994


                       Number of               Number of               Number of
Agency        Amount       cases      Amount       cases      Amount       cases
--------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
Defense         $300           1        $250           2        $225           1
HHS              320           1         265           2         250           3
HUD              225           1         210           1         165           1
Interior         225           1         200           1         185           1
Justice          250           1         205           1         200           1
Transpor         205           1         200           1         195           1
 tation
Treasury         320           1         305           1         295           1
GSA              320           1         225           2         185           2
Postal          $200           6        $185           2        $175           1
 Service
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source:  GAO analysis of data reported by the nine agencies. 

Table I.6 shows the distribution of the 310 hourly attorney rates by
hourly rate range awarded against the nine agencies.  The lowest
range was $99 or less, and the highest range was $300 or more. 
Included in the table are hourly rates that were actually awarded to
the plaintiffs' attorneys.  We excluded billed rates that were later
negotiated down by the agency. 



                               Table I.6
                
                 Distribution of Hourly Rates by Hourly
                    Rate Range Reported by the Nine
                  Agencies, Fiscal Years 1993 and 1994


Hourly rate range                               FY 1993        FY 1994
----------------------------------------  -------------  -------------
$99 or less                                          43             39
$100 to $199                                         83             83
$200 to $299                                         25             32
$300 or more                                          2              3
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source:  GAO analysis of data reported by the nine agencies. 

Table I.7 shows the highest and lowest hourly attorney rate range
reported by the nine agencies, set out by statute, for fiscal years
1993 and 1994. 



                               Table I.7
                
                  Range of Hourly Attorneys' Fee Rates
                Reported by the Nine Agencies for Fiscal
                Years 1993 and 1994, Set Out by Statute


                                            Hourly              Hourly
                                  Hourly      rate    Hourly      rate
                                rate low      high  rate low      high
Authorizing federal statute        range     range     range     range
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------
Equal Access to Justice Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5 U.S.C. section                     $45      $150       $10      $150
 504(a)(1)
28 U.S.C. section                     60       320        50       320
 2412

Privacy Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5 U.S.C. section                       0         0       130       130
 552a

Freedom of Information Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5 U.S.C. section                     150       150         0         0
 552(a)(4)(E)

Civil Service Reform Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5 U.S.C. section                      45       200        69       225
 5596(b)(1)
5 U.S.C. section                      75       225        45       250
 7701(g)

Internal Revenue Code
----------------------------------------------------------------------
26 U.S.C. section                     79       100        20       270
 7430

Federal Property & Administrative
Services Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
40 U.S.C. section                     50       175         0         0
 759 (f)(5)(C)

Contract Disputes Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
41 U.S.C. section                      0         0        75        75
 607

National Childhood Vaccine
Injury Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
42 U.S.C. section                     25       250        55       190
 300aa-15(b)

Civil Rights Attorney Fees
Awards Act
----------------------------------------------------------------------
42 U.S.C. section                      0         0       225       225
 1988

Civil Rights Act of
1964, title VII
----------------------------------------------------------------------
42 U.S.C. section                     10       225        45       320
 2000e-5(k)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  Some rates reflect paralegal and clerk hourly rates. 

Source:  GAO analysis of data reported by the nine agencies. 


--------------------
\1 We asked the nine agencies to indicate whether each attorney fee
award was based on a percentage of the plaintiff's award, a lump-sum
payment, or an hourly rate.  Some cases that were billed using an
hourly rate were later negotiated for a different fee award amount. 
In these instances, some agencies indicated that the award was based
on a lump-sum payment, while others reported an hourly rate. 
Consequently, the hourly rate fees provided did not always add to the
negotiated fee. 


   BASIS FOR ATTORNEYS' FEE AWARDS
   DECISIONS
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:5

Overall, the nine agencies reported that the majority of the
attorneys' fee awards were based on a lump-sum payment.  Table I.8
shows the basis for the agencies' fee awards.  Two award methods were
reported for 8 of the 441 cases, and no award method was reported for
3 cases. 



                               Table I.8
                
                   Basis for Plaintiff Attorneys' Fee
                  Awards Over $10,000 Against the Nine
                  Agencies, Fiscal Years 1993 and 1994


                                        Percentage
                                                of     Lump-
                                       plaintiff's       sum    Hourly
Agency                                       award   payment      rate
------------------------------------  ------------  --------  --------
Defense                                          1        21        35
HHS                                              0        64        27
HUD                                              0        11         6
Interior                                         1        31        11
Justice                                          0        24        21
Transportation                                   1        12        13
Treasury                                         0        36        32
GSA                                              0         2        10
Postal Service                                   1        62        24
======================================================================
Total                                            4       263       179
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source:  GAO analysis of data reported by the nine agencies. 


   TYPE OF PROCEEDING
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:6

The 441 attorneys' fee awards cases reported by the 9 agencies were
almost equally distributed between administrative and judicial
proceedings.  Almost two-thirds of the 441 cases were closed as a
result of a settlement.  Table I.9 shows the breakdown of the type of
proceeding by agency.  The administrative category also includes
grievance arbitration and settlements under Merit Systems Protection
Board actions that some agencies reported under the category "other."



                               Table I.9
                
                   Number of Plaintiff Attorneys' Fee
                  Awards Over $10,000 Against the Nine
                 Agencies by Type of Proceeding, Fiscal
                          Years 1993 and 1994


                                          Administrativ
Agency                                                e       Judicial
----------------------------------------  -------------  -------------
Defense                                              43             13
HHS                                                   3             89
HUD                                                   4             13
Interior                                             13             29
Justice                                              15             29
Transportation                                       19              6
Treasury                                             29             39
GSA                                                  10              2
Postal Service                                       74             11
======================================================================
Total                                               210            231
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source:  GAO analysis of data reported by the nine agencies. 

The 9 agencies reported that of the 441 awards, 276 awards were the
result of settlement agreements of which 153 awards were from
administrative proceedings and 123 were from judicial proceedings. 

The fee awards under the Equal Access to Justice Act of over $10,000
reported to us by the nine agencies totaled $3.3 million in fiscal
year 1993, $3 million from judicial proceedings, and $0.3 million
from administrative proceedings. 


EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT ANNUAL
REPORTS DATA FOR FISCAL YEAR 1993
========================================================== Appendix II

On the basis of information contained in the Equal Access to Justice
Act annual reports, we determined that during fiscal year 1993, 257
attorneys' fee awards totaling $1.3 million were authorized under the
Equal Access to Justice Act provisions covered by the reports.  Of
these awards, 232 awards totaling $988,060 resulted from judicial
proceedings, and 25 awards totaling $317,893 resulted from
administrative proceedings.  The Attorney General is responsible for
issuing an annual report to Congress on certain judicial awards under
this act, and the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the
United States is responsible for issuing an annual report to Congress
on administrative awards under this act.  Table II.1 shows the awards
reported in the two annual reports for fiscal year 1993. 



                               Table II.1
                
                 Attorneys' Fee Awards Reported in the
                Fiscal Year 1993 Equal Access to Justice
                           Act Annual Reports


Agency                            Number    Amount    Number    Amount
------------------------------  --------  --------  --------  --------
Defense                                6  $104,823         2   $76,412
Commerce                               1     9,228         0         0
Energy                                 0         0         1    23,875
GSA                                    3    24,024         0         0
HHS                                    0         0       215   769,500
Interior                               0         0         1     8,500
Labor                                  2    38,152         1    20,317
Railroad Retirement Board              0         0         1    14,018
Transportation                        11   100,083         0         0
Treasury                               0         0         1    14,846
Postal Service                         2    41,583         1    22,387
Not Specified                          0         0         9    38,205
======================================================================
Totals                                25  $317,893       232  $988,060
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source:  GAO analysis of the Department of Justice and the
Administrative Conference of the United States annual reports on the
Equal Access to Justice Act. 

The total fiscal year 1993 attorneys' fee awards over $10,000
authorized under the Equal Access to Justice Act that the agencies
provided to us (see table I.3) differed from the data reported in the
Equal Access to Justice Act annual reports for that year.  A
Department of Justice official, who is responsible for compiling the
data, attributed the differences in part to administrative problems
involving the recent transfer of the act's reporting responsibility
from the U.S.  Courts to the Department of Justice.  In addition, an
official of the Administrative Conference of the United States said
agency data reported to this agency occasionally includes case
information with no amount of attorneys' fees specified because the
amount of the fee is to be determined in settlement negotiations. 
Subsequently, an amount may have been determined and reported to us
by the nine agencies involved in our review. 


JUDGMENT FUND ATTORNEYS' FEE
AWARDS IN FISCAL YEARS 1993 AND
1994
========================================================= Appendix III

In 1992, we reported on attorneys' fees awarded to prevailing parties
in actions against the federal government.  We found that for fiscal
year 1991, $1.8 million in attorneys' fee awards, or about 7 percent
of all attorneys' fee awards, were paid from the Judgment Fund.  Most
of the awards that year were paid from agency funds. 

The Department of Justice and other agencies notify us of awards owed
under certain judgments and settlements that are to be paid by the
Judgment Fund.  We are responsible for certifying payments from the
Judgment Fund.  Some judgments and settlements combine the attorneys'
fee awards with the basic award to the plaintiff and do not specify
the amount of attorneys' fees.  In these instances, because it is not
possible to identify the specific amount awarded for attorneys' fees
and the Judgment Fund reports all money paid in the basic award
record, no money is shown in the attorney fee record.  Therefore,
table III.1 understates the actual attorneys' fee award amounts. 

In fiscal year 1993, the Judgment Fund's attorneys' fee record showed
payments of $11.6 million.  In fiscal year 1994, the Fund's
attorneys' fee record showed payments of $12.2 million.  Details of
Judgment Fund attorneys' fee record payments during fiscal years 1993
and 1994 are shown in table III.1. 



                              Table III.1
                
                  Attorneys' Fee Awards Paid From the
                  Judgment Fund, Fiscal Years 1993 and
                                  1994


Agency                                          FY 1993        FY 1994
----------------------------------------  -------------  -------------
Administrative Office of the U.S.                    $0        $45,000
 Courts
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and                   1,784          4,685
 Firearms
Army Corps of Engineers                               0        302,160
Bureau of Indian Affairs                         13,425        192,320
Bureau of Reclamation                                 0        186,000
Bureau of Prisons                                     0         22,575
Central Intelligence Agency                           0         10,576
Customs Service                                     750         11,079
Defense Logistics Agency                          7,806              0
Department of the Air Force                     932,056        594,944
Department of the Interior                       31,500        997,959
Department of State                             204,000        669,078
Department of Agriculture                        35,373         15,244
Department of Commerce                          300,000         18,700
Department of Defense                            48,200        299,136
Department of Education                           3,030              0
Department of Energy                              7,000        152,015
Department of Health and Human                   28,104         48,673
 Services
Department of Housing and Urban                 167,596        863,811
 Development
Department of Justice                           156,059        201,871
Department of Labor                             105,528              0
Department of Transportation                          0         48,642
Department of Veterans Affairs                  500,123        284,399
Department of the Army                          481,685        568,519
Department of the Navy                        2,976,875      1,517,483
Department of the Treasury                       10,929        112,338
Drug Enforcement Administration                   2,313        123,020
Environmental Protection Agency                 861,687        685,494
Equal Employment Opportunity                    697,378          6,961
 Commission
Farmers Home Administration                      44,522              0
Federal Aviation Administration                 126,274      1,020,592
Federal Bureau of Investigation                  26,070         44,216
Federal Energy Regulatory                             0         40,000
 Commission
Fish and Wildlife Service                       179,466        254,649
Forest Service                                  411,822         47,410
General Services Administration                 102,253        219,792
Government Printing Office                        2,588              0
Health Care Finance Administration                    0          3,500
Immigration and Naturalization                   38,465         23,840
 Service
Indian Health Service                            50,000              0
Internal Revenue Service                        738,011        836,611
Merit Systems Protection Board                        0         10,000
Minerals Management Service                           0         39,000
National Aeronautics and Space                  517,436          8,122
 Administration
National Highway Traffic Safety                   7,000              0
 Administration
National Labor Relations Board                    6,666              0
National Park Service                             2,500              0
Office of Personnel Management                        0          4,325
Office of Surface Mining                         98,823              0
Peace Corps                                           0         40,000
Securities and Exchange Commission                    0          4,750
Small Business Administration                   144,941          6,250
Smithsonian Institution                               0          1,328
Social Security Administration                    1,300          4,858
Secret Service                                        0        201,000
U. S. Information Agency                              0         43,500
Marshals Service                                  2,500        110,710
Other\a                                       1,555,122      1,214,524
======================================================================
Total                                       $11,628,959    $12,161,657
----------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Miscellaneous, multiple, or unknown agencies. 

Source:  GAO analysis of Judgment Fund data. 




(See figure in printed edition.)Appendix IV
SURVEY OF NINE FEDERAL AGENCIES ON
ATTORNEYS' FEES OVER $10,000
AWARDED DURING FISCAL YEARS 1993
AND 1994
========================================================= Appendix III



(See figure in printed edition.)




(See figure in printed edition.)Appendix V
COMMENTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE
========================================================= Appendix III




(See figure in printed edition.)Appendix VI
COMMENTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
========================================================= Appendix III



(See figure in printed edition.)


MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS REPORT
========================================================= Appendix VII

GENERAL GOVERNMENT DIVISION,
WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Weldon McPhail, Assistant Director, Administration of Justice
 Issues
Patricia J.  Scanlon, Staff Evaluator
David P.  Alexander, Senior Social Science Analyst
Pamela V.  Williams, Communications Analyst

OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL,
WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Susan Linder, Senior Attorney

DETROIT FIELD OFFICE

Jerry W.  Aiello, Evaluator-in-Charge
Edmund O.  Price, Computer Programmer Analyst