[United States Senate Manual, 112th Congress]
[S. Doc. 112-1]
[USCODETITLE]
[Pages 1020-1026]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
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TITLE 28.--JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE
Chapter 31.--THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
1425 Sec. 530D. Report on enforcement of laws.
(a) Report.--
(1) In general.--The Attorney General shall
submit to the Congress a report of any instance
in which the Attorney General or any officer of
the Department of Justice--
(A) establishes or implements a formal
or informal policy to refrain--
(i) from enforcing, applying, or
administering any provision of any
Federal statute, rule, regulation,
program, policy, or other law whose
enforcement, application, or
administration is within the
responsibility of the Attorney
General or such officer on the
grounds that such provision is
unconstitutional; or
(ii) within any judicial
jurisdiction of or within the United
States, from adhering to, enforcing,
applying, or complying with, any
standing rule of decision (binding
upon courts of, or inferior to those
of, that jurisdiction) established
by a final decision of any court of,
or superior to those of, that
jurisdiction, respecting the
interpretation, construction, or
application of the Constitution, any
statute, rule, regulation, program,
policy, or other law whose
enforcement, application, or
administration is within the
responsibility of the Attorney
General or such officer;
(B) determines--
(i) to contest affirmatively, in
any judicial, administrative, or
other proceeding, the
constitutionality of any provision
of any Federal statute, rule,
regulation, program, policy, or
other law; or
(ii) to refrain (on the grounds
that the provision is
unconstitutional) from defending or
asserting, in any judicial,
administrative, or other proceeding,
the constitutionality of any
provision of any Federal statute,
rule, regulation, program, policy,
or other law, or not to appeal or
request review of any judicial,
administrative, or other
determination adversely affecting
the constitutionality of any such
provision; or
(C) approves (other than in
circumstances in which a report is submitted
to the Joint Committee on Taxation, pursuant
to section 6405 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986) the settlement or compromise (other
than in bankruptcy) of any claim, suit, or
other action--
(i) against the United States
(including any agency or
instrumentality thereof) for a sum
that exceeds, or is likely to
exceed, $2,000,000, excluding
prejudgment interest; or
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(ii) by the United States
(including any agency or
instrumentality thereof) pursuant to
an agreement, consent decree, or
order (or pursuant to any
modification of an agreement,
consent decree, or order) that
provides injunctive or other
nonmonetary relief that exceeds, or
is likely to exceed, 3 years in
duration: Provided, That for
purposes of this clause, the term
``injunctive or other nonmonetary
relief'' shall not be understood to
include the following, where the
same are a matter of public record--
(I) debarments, suspensions, or other exclusions from
Government contracts or grants;
(II) mere reporting requirements or agreements
(including sanctions for failure to report);
(III) requirements or agreements merely to comply with
statutes or regulations;
(IV) requirements or agreements to surrender
professional licenses or to cease the practice of
professions, occupations, or industries;
(V) any criminal sentence or any requirements or
agreements to perform community service, to serve probation,
or to participate in supervised release from detention,
confinement, or prison; or
(VI) agreements to cooperate with the government in
investigations or prosecutions (whether or not the agreement
is a matter of public record).
(2) Submission of report to the Congress.--
For the purposes of paragraph (1), a report
shall be considered to be submitted to the
Congress if the report is submitted to--
(A) the majority leader and minority
leader of the Senate;
(B) the Speaker, majority leader, and
minority leader of the House of
Representatives;
(C) the chairman and ranking minority
member of the Committee on the Judiciary of
the House of Representatives and the
chairman and ranking minority member of the
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
and
(D) the Senate Legal Counsel and the
General Counsel of the House of
Representatives.
(b) Deadline.--A report shall be submitted--
(1) under subsection (a)(1)(A), not later
than 30 days after the establishment or
implementation of each policy;
(2) under subsection (a)(1)(B), within such
time as will reasonably enable the House of
Representatives and the Senate to take action,
separately or jointly, to intervene in timely
fashion in the proceeding, but in no event later
than 30 days after the making of each
determination; and
(3) under subsection (a)(1)(C), not later
than 30 days after the conclusion of each
fiscal-year quarter, with respect to all
approvals occurring in such quarter.
(c) Contents.--A report required by subsection (a) shall--
(1) specify the date of the establishment or
implementation of the policy described in
subsection (a)(1)(A), of the making of the
determination described in subsection (a)(1)(B),
or of each approval described in subsection
(a)(1)(C);
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(2) include a complete and detailed
statement of the relevant issues and background
(including a complete and detailed statement of
the reasons for the policy or determination, and
the identity of the officer responsible for
establishing or implementing such policy, making
such determination, or approving such settlement
or compromise), except that--
(A) such details may be omitted as may
be absolutely necessary to prevent improper
disclosure of national-security- or
classified information, of any information
subject to the deliberative-process-,
executive-, attorney- work-product-, or
attorney-client privileges, or of any
information the disclosure of which is
prohibited by section 6103 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, or other law or any
court order if the fact of each such
omission (and the precise ground or grounds
therefor) is clearly noted in the statement:
Provided, That this subparagraph shall not
be construed to deny to the Congress
(including any House, Committee, or agency
thereof) any such omitted details (or
related information) that it lawfully may
seek, subsequent to the submission of the
report; and--
(B) the requirements of this paragraph
shall be deemed satisfied--
(i) in the case of an approval
described in subsection
(a)(1)(C)(i), if an unredacted copy
of the entire settlement agreement
and consent decree or order (if any)
is provided, along with a statement
indicating the legal and factual
basis or bases for the settlement or
compromise (if not apparent on the
face of documents provided); and
(ii) in the case of an approval
described in subsection
(a)(1)(C)(ii), if an unredacted copy
of the entire settlement agreement
and consent decree or order (if any)
is provided, along with a statement
indicating the injunctive or other
nonmonetary relief (if not apparent
on the face of documents provided);
and
(3) in the case of a determination described
in subsection (a)(1)(B) or an approval described
in subsection (a)(1)(C), indicate the nature,
tribunal, identifying information, and status of
the proceeding, suit, or action.
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(d) Declaration.--In the case of a determination described
in subsection (a)(1)(B), the representative of the
United States participating in the proceeding shall make
a clear declaration in the proceeding that any position
expressed as to the constitutionality of the provision
involved is the position of the executive branch of the
Federal Government (or, as applicable, of the President
or of any executive agency or military department).
(e) Applicability to the President and to executive agencies
and military departments.--The reporting, declaration,
and other provisions of this section relating to the
Attorney General and other officers of the Department of
Justice shall apply to the President (but only with
respect to the promulgation of any unclassified
Executive order or similar memorandum or order), to the
head of each executive agency or military department (as
defined, respectively, in sections 105 and 102 of title
5, United States Code) that establishes or implements a
policy described in subsection (a)(1)(A) or is
authorized to conduct litigation, and to the officers of
such executive agency. (Added Pub.L. 107-273, Div. A,
Title II, Sec. 202(a), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1771.)
Chapter 85.--DISTRICT COURTS, JURISDICTION
1426 Sec. 1365. Senate actions.
(a) The United States District Court for the District of
Columbia shall have original jurisdiction, without regard to
the amount in controversy, over any civil action brought by
the Senate or any authorized committee or subcommittee of
the Senate to enforce, to secure a declaratory judgment
concerning the validity of, or to prevent a threatened
refusal or failure to comply with, any subpoena or order
issued by the Senate or committee or subcommittee of the
Senate to any entity acting or purporting to act under color
or authority of State law or to any natural person to secure
the production of documents or other materials of any kind
or the answering of any deposition or interrogatory or to
secure testimony or any combination thereof. This section
shall not apply to an action to enforce, to secure a
declaratory judgment concerning the validity of, or to
prevent a threatened refusal to comply with, any subpoena or
order issued to an officer or employee of the executive
branch of the Federal Government acting within his or her
official capacity, except that this section shall apply if
the refusal to comply is based on the assertion of a
personal privilege or objection and is not based on a
governmental privilege or objection the assertion of which
has been authorized by the executive branch of the Federal
Government.
(b) Upon application by the Senate or any authorized
committee or subcommittee of the Senate, the district court
shall issue an order to an entity or person refusing, or
failing to comply with, or threatening to refuse or not to
comply with, a subpoena or order of the Senate or committee
or subcommittee of the Senate requiring such entity or
person to comply forthwith. Any refusal or failure to obey a
lawful order of the district court issued pursuant to this
section may be held by such court to be a contempt thereof.
A contempt proceeding shall be commenced by an order to show
cause before the court why the entity or person refusing or
failing to obey the court order should not
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be held in contempt of court. Such contempt proceeding shall
be tried by the court and shall be summary in manner. The
purpose of sanctions imposed as a result of such contempt
proceeding shall be to compel obedience to the order of the
court. Process in any such action or contempt proceeding may
be served in any judicial district wherein the entity or
party refusing, or failing to comply, or threatening to
refuse or not to comply, resides, transacts business, or may
be found, and subpoenas for witnesses who are required to
attend such proceeding may run into any other district.
Nothing in this section shall confer upon such court
jurisdiction to affect by injunction or otherwise the
issuance or effect of any subpoena or order of the Senate or
any committee or subcommittee of the Senate or to review,
modify, suspend, terminate, or set aside any such subpoena
or order. An action, contempt proceeding, or sanction
brought or imposed pursuant to this section shall not abate
upon adjournment sine die by the Senate at the end of a
Congress if the Senate or the committee or subcommittee of
the Senate which issued the subpoena or order certifies to
the court that it maintains its interest in securing the
documents, answers, or testimony during such adjournment.
(c) Repealed (Pub.L. 98-620, Title IV, Sec. 402(29)(D),
Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3359).
(d) The Senate or any committee or subcommittee of the
Senate commencing and prosecuting a civil action or contempt
proceeding under this section may be represented in such
action by such attorneys as the Senate may designate.
(e) A civil action commenced or prosecuted under this
section, may not be authorized pursuant to the Standing
Order of the Senate ``authorizing suits by Senate
Committees'' (S. Jour. 572, May 28, 1928).
(f) For the purposes of this section the term
``committee'' includes standing, select, or special
committees of the Senate established by law or resolution.
(Added Pub.L. 95-521, Title VII, Sec. 705(f)(1), Oct. 26,
1978, 92 Stat. 1879, Sec. 1364, and amended Pub.L. 98-620,
Title IV, Sec. 402(29)(D), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3359;
renumbered Sec. 1365, Pub.L. 99-336, Sec. 6(a)(1)(B), June
19, 1986, 100 Stat. 638; Pub.L. 104-292, Sec. 4, Oct. 11,
1996, 110 Stat. 3460.)
Chapter 91.--UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS
1427 Sec. 1492. Congressional reference cases.
Any bill, except a bill for a pension, may be referred
by either House of Congress to the chief judge of the United
States Court of Federal Claims for a report in conformity
with section 2509 of this title. (June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62
Stat. 941; Oct. 15, 1966, Pub.L. 89-681, Sec. 1, 80 Stat.
958. April 2, 1982, Pub.L. 97-164, Title I, 133(b), 96 Stat.
40; Oct. 29, 1992, Pub.L. 102-572, Title IX, Sec. 902(a)(1),
106 Stat. 4516.)
Chapter 115.--EVIDENCE; DOCUMENTARY
1428 Sec. 1736. Congressional Journals.
Extracts from the Journals of the Senate and the House
of Representatives, and from the Executive Journal of the
Senate when the injunction of secrecy is removed, certified
by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of
Representatives shall be received in evidence
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with the same effect as the originals would have. (June 25,
1948, ch. 646, Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 947.)
Chapter 131.--RULES OF COURTS
1429 Sec. 2076. Repealed (Pub.L. 100-702, Sec. 401(c), 102 Stat.
4650).
Chapter 165.--UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS
PROCEDURE
1430 Sec. 2509. Congressional reference cases.
(a) Whenever a bill, except a bill for a pension, is
referred by either House of Congress to the chief judge of
the United States Court of Federal Claims pursuant to
section 1492 of this title, the chief judge shall designate
a judge as hearing officer for the case and a panel of three
judges of the court to serve as a reviewing body. One member
of the review panel shall be designated as presiding officer
of the panel.
(b) Proceedings in a congressional reference case shall
be under rules and regulations prescribed for the purpose by
the chief judge who is hereby authorized and directed to
require the application of the pertinent rules of practice
of the Court of Federal Claims insofar as feasible. Each
hearing officer and each review panel shall have authority
to do and perform any acts which may be necessary or proper
for the efficient performance of their duties, including the
power of subpoena and the power to administer oaths and
affirmations. None of the rules, rulings, findings, or
conclusions authorized by this section shall be subject to
judicial review.
(c) The hearing officer to whom a congressional
reference case is assigned by the chief judge shall proceed
in accordance with the applicable rules to determine the
facts, including facts relating to delay or laches, facts
bearing upon the question whether the bar of any statute of
limitation should be removed, or facts claimed to excuse the
claimant for not having resorted to any established legal
remedy. He shall append to his findings of fact conclusions
sufficient to inform Congress whether the demand is a legal
or equitable claim or a gratuity, and the amount, if any,
legally or equitably due from the United States to the
claimant.
(d) The findings and conclusions of the hearing officer
shall be submitted by him, together with the record in the
case, to the review panel for review by it pursuant to such
rules as may be provided for the purpose, which shall
include provision for submitting the report of the hearing
officer to the parties for consideration, exception, and
argument before the panel. The panel, by majority vote,
shall adopt or modify the findings or the conclusions of the
hearing officer.
(e) The panel shall submit its report to the chief judge
for transmission to the appropriate House of Congress.
(f) Any act or failure to act or other conduct by a
party, a witness, or an attorney which would call for the
imposition of sanctions under the rules of practice of the
Court of Federal Claims shall be noted by the panel or the
hearing officer at the time of occurrence thereof and upon
failure of the delinquent or offending party, witness, or
attorney to make prompt compliance with the order of the
panel or the hearing officer a full statement of the
circumstances shall be incorporated in the report of the
panel.
(g) The Court of Federal Claims is hereby authorized and
directed, under such regulations as it may prescribe, to
provide the facilities
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and services of the office of the clerk of the court for the
filing, processing, hearing, and dispatch of congressional
reference cases and to include within its annual
appropriations the costs thereof and other costs of
administration, including (but without limitation to the
items herein listed) the salaries and traveling expenses of
the judges serving as hearing officers and panel members,
mailing and service of process, necessary physical
facilities, equipment, and supplies, and personnel
(including secretaries and law clerks). (Oct. 15, 1966,
Pub.L. 89-681, Sec. 2, 80 Stat. 958; April 2, 1982, Pub.L.
97-164, Title I, Sec. 139(h), 96 Stat. 42; Oct. 29, 1992,
Pub.L. 102-572, Title IX, Sec. 902(a), 106 Stat. 4516.)
31 u.s.c.--money and finance
general and permanent laws relating to the senate