February 7, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 24 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages H1413-H1415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                OPEN BOOK ON EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 752) to amend titles 5 and 28, United States Code, to require the 
maintenance of databases on awards of fees and other expenses to 
prevailing parties in certain administrative proceedings and court 
cases to which the United States is a party, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 752

       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 ``Open Book on Equal Access to 
     Justice Act''.

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

       (a) Agency Proceedings.--Section 504 of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``, United States 
     Code'';
       (2) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (h); and
       (3) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
       ``(e) The Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the 
     United States shall create and maintain online a searchable 
     database containing the following information with respect to 
     each award of fees and other expenses under this section:
       ``(1) The case name and number of the adversary 
     adjudication, if available.
       ``(2) The name of the agency involved in the adversary 
     adjudication.
       ``(3) A description of the claims in the adversary 
     adjudication.
       ``(4) The name of each party to whom the award was made, as 
     such party is identified in the order or other agency 
     document making the award.
       ``(5) The amount of the award.
       ``(6) The basis for the finding that the position of the 
     agency concerned was not substantially justified.
       ``(f) The online searchable database described in 
     subsection (f) may not reveal any information the disclosure 
     of which is prohibited by law or court order.
       ``(g) The head of each agency shall provide to the Chairman 
     of the Administrative Conference of the United States all 
     information requested by the Chairman to comply with the 
     requirements of subsections (e) and (f) not later than 60 
     days after the date on which the request is made.''.
       (b) Court Cases.--Section 2412(d) of title 28, United 
     States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) The Chairman of the Administrative Conference shall 
     create and maintain online a searchable database containing 
     the following information with respect to each award of fees 
     and other expenses under this section:
       ``(A) The case name and number.
       ``(B) The name of the agency involved in the case.
       ``(C) The name of each party to whom the award was made, as 
     such party is identified in the order or other court document 
     making the award.
       ``(D) A description of the claims in the case.
       ``(E) The amount of the award.
       ``(F) The basis for the finding that the position of the 
     agency concerned was not substantially justified.
       ``(6) The online searchable database described in paragraph 
     (5) may not reveal any information the disclosure of which is 
     prohibited by law or court order.
       ``(7) The head of each agency (including the Attorney 
     General of the United States) shall provide to the Chairman 
     of the Administrative Conference of the United States all 
     information requested by the Chairman to comply with the 
     requirements of paragraphs (5) and (6) not later than 60 days 
     after the date on which the request is made.''.
       (c) Clerical Amendments.--Section 2412 of title 28, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (d)(3), by striking ``United States 
     Code,''; and
       (2) in subsection (e)--
       (A) by striking ``of section 2412 of title 28, United 
     States Code,'' and inserting ``of this section''; and
       (B) by striking ``of such title'' and inserting ``of this 
     title''.
       (d) Effective Date.--
       (1) In general.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and 
     (b) shall first apply with respect to awards of fees and 
     other expenses that are made on or after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.
       (2) Online databases.--The online databases required by 
     section 504(e) of title 5, United States Code, and section 
     2412(d)(5) of title 28, United States Code, shall be 
     established as soon as practicable after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, but in no case later than 1 year after 
     the date of enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             General Leave

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
up to 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 752, the Open Book on Equal 
Access to Justice Act, a bill House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member 
Collins and I have worked on together for several years.
  The Equal Access to Justice Act was enacted to allow Americans to 
recover attorneys' fees and costs associated with lawsuits against the 
Federal Government. This has enabled ordinary citizens, such as 
veterans, seniors, small business owners, advocates for clean air and 
clean water, and any other type of citizen to fight unfair or illegal 
government actions without fear of court costs.
  The law has been a success. In 1995, however, an important reporting 
requirement was removed from it, which made it harder for the public to 
know how much money the government has awarded. Our bill, the Open Book 
on Equal Access to Justice Act reinstates the Equal Access to Justice 
Act's tracking and reporting requirements with respect to payments 
awarded so that American people can have access to this important 
information.
  It would do this by requiring ACUS, an acronym for the Administrative 
Conference of the United States, a highly respected, nonpartisan 
agency, to prepare an annual report for Congress on the fees and costs 
awarded in these cases. The reports would also include the number and 
nature of the claims involved.
  In summary, H.R. 752 would promote greater transparency and 
accountability. Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to join me and Mr. 
Collins in voting for this measure today, and I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, there are so many times on this floor that we come down 
here and we talk about things that divide us, but I have to say, Mr. 
Cohen and I, we have had so many things that sometimes we don't see eye 
to eye on, but we are still friends, and this is one of those times 
where we have been pursuing this one for a long time. This is a bill 
that I have been very privileged to have him be a part of and sponsor.

                              {time}  1400

  H.R. 752, the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act, is to provide 
transparency and oversight for taxpayer dollars awarded under the Equal 
Access to Justice Act.
  Of all the folks who have been cosponsors on this, Mr. Cohen has 
stood out among all. He has been such a great supporter of this, and it 
is good to have him with us managing this bill.
  I also thank Representatives Cheney and Peterson for being original 
cosponsors and their continued leadership on this.
  Also, Mr. Speaker, because this is, I believe, something we should 
have passed last Congress, we went ahead and worked it, and, today, we 
are also excited to have identical legislation that has been introduced 
in the Senate by Senators Barrasso and Coons.
  This bill has previously passed the House unanimously. It is common 
sense and restores needed congressional and public oversight.
  Congress originally passed the Equal Access to Justice Act in 1980 to 
remove a barrier to justice for those with limited access to the 
resources it takes to sue the Federal Government and to recover 
attorney's fees and costs that go along with such suits. The law was 
meant to give citizens the ability to challenge or defend against 
unreasonable government actions where they might otherwise be deterred 
or unable to do so because of large legal expenses.

[[Page H1414]]

  The Equal Access to Justice Act was intended for true David and 
Goliath scenarios where a wronged citizen is facing the Federal 
Government's vast resources. This law has been on the books for decades 
and remains important. However, since 1995, tracking and reporting 
requirements on payments under the law have been halted. Without a 
comprehensive Federal report on the total amount of fees under the law, 
we have fallen behind in oversight responsibilities and can't tell, in 
a meaningful way, if that law is still working as intended.
  In fact, a Government Accountability Office report indicated that, 
without any direction to track payments, most agencies simply do not do 
it. We have only anecdotal evidence about how much we are spending on 
attorney's fees, the agencies paying out the fees, and what types of 
claims are being covered.
  The Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act 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. It requires the Administrative Conference 
of the United States 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. Importantly, ACUS 
would be required to withhold information from the database if 
disclosure is prohibited by law or court order.
  As made clear in report language in previous years, I continue to 
expect ACUS to 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.
  The Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act places agency 
expenditures under EAJA in view of a watchful public eye and restores 
scrutiny over taxpayer dollars.
  Where the Federal Government is spending money, Congress needs to 
exercise oversight and ensure it is being done in accordance with the 
law and congressional intent.
  Tracking and reporting requirements preserve the integrity of the 
Equal Access to Justice Act. They will enable Congress to evaluate the 
law to make sure it is working effectively for the people it is 
intended to help. We owe it to small businesses, Social Security 
claimants, veterans, and similarly situated individuals who rely on the 
law, faced with the daunting task of taking on the Federal Government, 
to make sure that it is working.
  I look forward to continuing bipartisan efforts to move this bill 
forward and to the Open Book on Equal Justice Act ultimately becoming 
law. The consensus behind this legislation reflects the need to address 
this issue and Americans' right to know how their taxpayer dollars are 
being spent. It is time we gave them that transparency.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, today, I recognize a lady who served in this 
Congress named Cynthia Lummis. She was the original cosponsor I had on 
this bill and worked hard on it and was a very fine Representative.
  We also worked with a man named Lowell Baier. Mr. Baier wrote a book 
called ``Inside the Equal Access to Justice Act: Environmental 
Litigation and the Crippling Battle over America's Lands, Endangered 
Species, and Critical Habitats.'' He was a great supporter of this 
concept, and I want to recognize his efforts as well as Mrs. Lummis'.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may 
consume to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney), who is a 
cosponsor and our Conference chair. She has been a great supporter of 
this.
  I would also be remiss, Mr. Speaker, to not say that it was her 
predecessor who introduced me to this issue, Mrs. Lummis, who always 
seems to be around, and she keeps this agenda in focus as well. I want 
to say thank you to her for her previous work.
  Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and Republican leader 
of the Steering Committee, Mr. Collins, as well as my colleague, Mr. 
Cohen from Tennessee, for their work on this important issue. I thank 
Chairman Nadler, of course, for helping to bring this important bill to 
the floor. Of course, I echo my colleagues' fond words for my 
predecessor, Congresswoman Lummis, and all the work she did over the 
years on this issue and so many others for our great State. I thank 
them the opportunity to speak on this important bill.

  Mr. Speaker, the Equal Access to Justice Act was enacted in 1980 for 
good reason: to ensure that private citizens could obtain legal 
representation in cases against the Federal Government, in cases where 
it was deserved.
  While the Equal Access to Justice Act serves that important purpose 
in holding these Federal agencies accountable, in the past 20 years, we 
have seen this process abused too often by outside organizations. This 
program was intended to help everyday citizens seek justice, but those 
seeking profits have also had access to this program. They have 
effectively turned the Equal Access to Justice Act into their own 
personal wallet through frivolous lawsuits. This program was never 
intended to be a slush fund for serial litigators.
  Making matters worse, the perversion of the Equal Access to Justice 
Act is funded by American taxpayers. Americans are footing the legal 
and attorney's fees of groups that are impeding critical activities, 
especially on Federal lands in my home State of Wyoming and in others.
  It is clear that the Equal Access to Justice Act needs modernizing, 
and H.R. 752 is the first step toward that goal. This legislation still 
affords citizens, organizations, and other affected parties the same 
right to financial rewards in a prevailing lawsuit, but it finally 
would establish transparency and accountability for these funds.
  Under H.R. 752, an online database detailing funds awarded to 
prevailing parties, the agency, and the party involved in the case, and 
a description of these claims, will be made available to the American 
people. This provides accountability and transparency not only to 
outside organizations, but to our Federal agencies and, most 
importantly, to the American people. The American people have a right 
to know how their hard-earned money is spent, and this legislation 
takes a crucial step toward doing just that.
  I am pleased, Mr. Speaker, to support this important legislation, and 
I urge my colleagues to support it as well.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, this is definitely an area that I looked forward to. It 
should have happened last Congress, for my good friend from Tennessee. 
It is going to happen, I believe, in this Congress. We have both the 
House and the Senate, and I think this is definitely something the 
administration will support. I look forward to this becoming law.
  This is simply a good bill that opens up transparency and allows us 
to make better decisions in Congress. That is what we are supposed to 
be about. Again, I thank my friend from Tennessee for being a cosponsor 
on this and for being a part of that.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, in closing, again, I would like to thank all 
the other people, all the members of the Academy and the producers and 
directors, but also Ranking Member Collins for his continued 
partnership on this bill, which passed the House last Congress and 
almost passed the Senate. We always have to remember the enemy is not 
the Republicans; it is the Senate.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Collin Peterson and Liz Cheney 
for their efforts as well. I urge my colleagues to pass this bill, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 752 ``Open 
Book Equal Access to Justice Act'' which will amend titles 5 and 28, 
United States Code, to require the maintenance of databases on awards 
of fees

[[Page H1415]]

and other expenses to prevailing parties in certain administrative 
proceedings and court cases to which the United States is a party, and 
for other purposes.
  In 1980, Congress passed the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) as a 
means to help individuals, retirees, veterans, and small businesses 
recover attorney's fees and costs associated with suing the federal 
government.
  Congress intended the EAJA to remove a barrier to justice for those 
with limited access to the resources it takes to sue the federal 
government.
  Payments of EAJA attorney's fees come from the budget of the agency 
who action gave rise to the claim.
  While the original EAJA legislation included a requirement to track 
payments and report to Congress annually, Congress and the agencies 
halted tracking and reporting of payments made through EAJA in 1995.
  Without any direction to track payments, most agencies simply do not 
do it and Congress and taxpayers are unable to exercise oversight over 
these funds.
  H.R. 752 reinstates the tracking and reporting requirements of the 
original EAJA legislation by requiring the Administrative Conference of 
the United States (ACUS) to develop an online, searchable database to 
facilitate public and Congressional oversight over the program.
  This will allow public access to information on the amount of 
attorney's fees being paid under EAJA, to whom the taxpayers' money is 
being paid, and from which agencies.
  The Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act helps ensure that 
agencies are operating under the public eye and that taxpayer dollars 
are being spent effectively and properly.
  Allowing plaintiffs to recoup legal costs when they sue the federal 
government for reparations they deserve is only fair.
  Many Americans do not have the resources to take on our sprawling 
bureaucracy, but EAJA gave them the power to do that by removing a 
barrier to justice for those with limited access to resources.
  Since the original reporting requirements were halted by Congress, 
there is no information on payments made under the law.
  Tracking and reporting payments will help preserve the integrity of 
this law and help Congress make sure it is working effectively for the 
people it was intended to help.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for H.R. 752.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 752.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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