Open EAJA Act of 2010 - Directs the Attorney General to issue an annual online report to Congress and the public on the amount of attorney fees and other expenses awarded during the preceding fiscal year pursuant to the law commonly known as the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA).
Directs the Comptroller General to commence an audit of the Equal Access to Justice Act for 1995 through the end of the calendar year in which this Act is enacted, and report to Congress on the audit results.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4717 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4717
To require the Attorney General of the United States to compile, and
make publically available, certain data relating to the Equal Access to
Justice Act, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 2, 2010
Mrs. Lummis (for herself, Ms. Herseth Sandlin, and Mr. Bishop of Utah)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Attorney General of the United States to compile, and
make publically available, certain data relating to the Equal Access to
Justice Act, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Open EAJA Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The Equal Access to Justice Act, established in 1980 to
provide small businesses, individuals, and public interest
groups the opportunity to recover attorney fees and costs, is
funded through a permanent Congressional appropriation.
(2) The Equal Access to Justice Act, as passed, includes
statutory reporting requirements to Congress on the
administration and payments funded through the Act.
(3) The Department of Justice and the Administrative
Conference of the United States ceased reporting to Congress on
EAJA payments and administration in 1995.
(4) Payments authorized by EAJA have continued every year
without Congressional oversight.
SEC. 3. DATA COMPILATION, REPORTING, AND PUBLIC ACCESS.
(a) Reporting in Agency Adjudications.--Section 504(c) of title 5,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``After consultation
with the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the
United States, each'' and inserting ``Each''; and
(2) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
``(e)(1) The Attorney General of the United States shall issue an
annual, online report to the Congress on the amount of fees and other
expenses awarded during the preceding fiscal year pursuant to this
section. The report shall describe the number, nature, and amount of
the awards, the claims involved in the controversy, a justification for
awards exceeding the cap provided in subsection (b)(1)(A), and any
other relevant information that may aid the Congress in evaluating the
scope and impact of such awards. The report shall be made available to
the public online, and contain a searchable database, total awards
given, and total number of applications for the award of fees and other
expenses that were filed, defended, and heard, and shall include, with
respect to each such application, the following:
``(A) Name of the party seeking the award of fees and other
expenses.
``(B) The agency to which the application for the award was
made.
``(C) The name of administrative law judges in the case.
``(D) The disposition of the application, including any
appeal of action taken on the application.
``(E) The hourly rates of attorneys and expert witnesses
stated in the application that was awarded.
``(2) The report under paragraph (1) shall cover payments of fees
and other expenses under this section that are made pursuant to a
settlement agreement.
``(3) Each agency shall provide the Attorney General with such
information as is necessary for the Attorney General to comply with the
requirements of this subsection.''.
(b) Reporting in Court Cases.--Section 2412(d) of title 28, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after paragraph (4), the following
new paragraph:
``(5) The Attorney General of the United States shall issue an
annual, online report to the Congress on the amount of fees and other
expenses awarded during the preceding fiscal year pursuant to this
subsection. The report shall describe the number, nature, and amount of
the awards, the claims involved in the controversy, a justification for
awards exceeding the cap provided in paragraph (2)(A)(ii), and any
other relevant information that may aid the Congress in evaluating the
scope and impact of such awards. The report shall be made available to
the public online and shall contain a searchable database of total
awards given and the total number of cases filed, defended, or heard,
and shall include with respect to each such case the following:
``(A) The name of the party seeking the award of fees and
other expenses in the case.
``(B) The district court hearing the case.
``(C) The names of presiding judges in the case.
``(D) The name of the agency involved in the case.
``(E) The disposition of the application for fees and other
expenses, including any appeal of action taken on the
application.
``(F) The hourly rates of attorneys and expert witnesses
stated in the application that was awarded.
The report under this paragraph shall cover payments of fees and other
expenses under this subsection that are made pursuant to a settlement
agreement.''.
SEC. 4. GAO STUDY.
Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Comptroller General shall commence an audit of the Equal Access to
Justice Act for the years 1995 through the end of the calendar year in
which this Act is enacted. The Comptroller General shall, not later
than 1 year after the end of the calendar year in which this Act is
enacted, complete such audit and submit to the Congress a report on the
results of the audit.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy.
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