I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3754 

To amend titles 5 and 28, United States Code, to facilitate recovering the 

costs of litigation and agency adjudications for prevailing parties in 

an action against the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 9, 2015 

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend titles 5 and 28, United States Code, to facilitate 

recovering the costs of litigation and agency adjudications for prevailing parties in an action against the 

United States, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Halting Government 

5 Overreach Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CHANGING LIMITATIONS ON RECOVERY OF FEES 

2 AND EXPENSES BY THE PREVAILING PARTY 

3 IN AN ACTION AGAINST THE UNITED STATES. 

4 (a) CIVIL ACTIONS.— 

5 (1) REMOVING THE SUBSTANTIAL JUSTIFICA6 TION EXCEPTION.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 2412(d) of title 

8 28, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (i) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘, 

10 unless the court finds that the position of 

11 the United States was substantially justi12 fied or that special circumstances make an 

13 award unjust’’; 

14 (ii) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking 

15 ‘‘The party shall also allege that the posi16 tion of the United States was not substan17 tially justified. Whether or not the position 

18 of the United States was substantially jus19 tified shall be determined on the basis of 

20 the record (including the record with re21 spect to the action or failure to act by the 

22 agency upon which the civil action is 

23 based) which is made in the civil action for 

24 which fees and other expenses are 

25 sought.’’; and 


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1 (iii) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘, 

2 unless the court finds that during such ad3 versary adjudication the position of the 

4 United States was substantially justified, 

5 or that special circumstances make an 

6 award unjust’’. 

7 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

8 2412(d)(2) of title 28, United States Code, is 

9 amended by striking subparagraph (D). 

10 (2) REQUIRING DIRECT AND PERSONAL INTER11 EST.—Section 2412(d)(1)(A) of title 28, United 

12 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: ‘‘Such award may only be made if the pre14 vailing party has a direct and personal interest in 

15 the action because of an injury that gave rise to the 

16 action.’’. 

17 (3) EXCLUDING NET WORTH FROM THE DEFI18 NITION OF ‘‘PARTY’’.—Section 2412(d)(2)(B) of title 

19 28, United States Code, is amended— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘whose net worth did not 

21 exceed $2,000,000 at the time the civil action 

22 was filed’’; 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘, the net worth of which 

24 did not exceed $7,000,000 at the time the civil 

25 action was filed, and’’; and 


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1 (C) by striking ‘‘; except’’ and all that fol2 lows through ‘‘defined in section 601 of title 5’’. 

3 (b) AGENCY ADJUDICATIONS.— 

4 (1) REMOVING THE SUBSTANTIAL JUSTIFICA5 TION EXCEPTION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 504 of title 5, 

7 United States Code, is amended— 

8 (i) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘, 

9 unless the adjudicative officer of the agen10 cy finds that the position of the agency 

11 was substantially justified or that special 

12 circumstances make an award unjust. 

13 Whether or not the position of the agency 

14 was substantially justified shall be deter15 mined on the basis of the administrative 

16 record, as a whole, which is made in the 

17 adversary adjudication for which fees and 

18 other expenses are sought’’; and 

19 (ii) in subsection (a)(2), by striking 

20 ‘‘The party shall also allege that the posi21 tion of the agency was not substantially 

22 justified.’’. 

23 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

24 504(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is 

25 amended— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (D), by adding 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

3 (ii) by striking subparagraph (E). 

4 (2) REQUIRING DIRECT AND PERSONAL INTER5 EST.—Section 504(a)(1) of title 5, United States 

6 Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: ‘‘Such award may only be made if the pre8 vailing party has a direct and personal interest in 

9 the proceeding because of an injury that gave rise to 

10 the proceeding.’’. 

11 (3) EXCLUDING NET WORTH FROM THE DEFI12 NITION OF ‘‘PARTY’’.—Section 504(b)(1)(B) of title 

13 5, United States Code, is amended— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘whose net worth did not 

15 exceed $2,000,000 at the time the adversary 

16 adjudication was initiated’’; 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘, the net worth of which 

18 did not exceed $7,000,000 at the time the ad19 versary adjudication was initiated, and’’; and 

20 (C) by striking ‘‘; except’’ and all that fol21 lows through ‘‘defined in section 601’’. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall apply with respect to actions initiated 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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