II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1712 

To increase transparency in the payment of judgments and settlements by 

agencies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 13, 2011 

Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. TESTER, Mr. BARRASSO, and 

Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To increase transparency in the payment of judgments and 

settlements by agencies, 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 ‘‘Transparency in Judg5 ment Payments Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF PAYMENTS. 

7 Section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(d)(1) Not later than 30 days after the payment of 

10 a final judgment, award, or compromise settlement under 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1712 IS

1 this section, the Secretary of the Treasury shall publish 

2 electronically (including on a dedicated, publicly accessible 

3 Web site), in a manner consistent with applicable Federal 

4 privacy law— 

5 ‘‘(A) the agency responsible for the payment; 

6 ‘‘(B) a citation to the provision of law under 

7 which the claim was made; 

8 ‘‘(C) the amount to be paid; 

9 ‘‘(D) the amount of any interest to be paid; 

10 ‘‘(E) the amount of any attorney fees to be 

11 paid; and 

12 ‘‘(F) for any case filed in a court— 

13 ‘‘(i) the case number for the case that re14 sulted in the judgment, award, or settlement; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the court in which the case was filed. 

17 ‘‘(2) The information published under paragraph (1) 

18 shall contain separate sections for claims filed in court and 

19 administrative claims. 

20 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary of the Treasury shall submit 

21 to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 

22 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen23 ate and the Committee on the Judiciary and the Com24 mittee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 

25 of Representatives a quarterly report that contains— 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1712 IS

1 ‘‘(i) any information published under paragraph 

2 (1) during the preceding quarter; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) a confidential appendix that includes, for 

4 each case or claim described in clause (i), the iden5 tity of the plaintiff, counsel for the plaintiff, and the 

6 defendant. 

7 ‘‘(B) A report under subparagraph (A) shall be ex8 empt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5. For pur9 poses of section 552 of title 5, this paragraph shall be 

10 considered a statute described in subsection (b)(3)(B) of 

11 such section 552.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. LITIGATION MANAGEMENT. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 6 of title 5, United 

14 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘§ 613. Litigation management 

17 ‘‘(a) Each agency, in consultation with the Attorney 

18 General of the United States and consistent with applica19 ble Federal privacy law, shall submit to the Committee 

20 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

21 Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government 

22 Reform of the House of Representatives an annual report 

23 describing— 

24 ‘‘(1) any civil action filed or pending against 

25 the agency or any employee of the agency; and 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1712 IS

1 ‘‘(2) any settlements entered by or final judg2 ments entered against the agency or any employee 

3 of the agency. 

4 ‘‘(b) The report required under subsection (a) shall 

5 include— 

6 ‘‘(1) a summary of— 

7 ‘‘(A) the number of civil actions filed, 

8 pending, or settled; 

9 ‘‘(B) the number of civil actions for which 

10 more than 36 months have passed since the 

11 date the action was filed; 

12 ‘‘(C) the number of claims— 

13 ‘‘(i) made under a statute or regula14 tion; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) alleging a violation of a statute 

16 or regulation; 

17 ‘‘(D) the number of judgments entered for 

18 and against the agency; 

19 ‘‘(E) the number of settlements or consent 

20 decrees involving the agency; 

21 ‘‘(F) the number of judgments entered 

22 under seal; 

23 ‘‘(G) the number of settlements or consent 

24 decrees involving a confidentiality agreement or 

25 order; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1712 IS

1 ‘‘(H) the total amount of all judgments, 

2 settlements, and attorney fees paid by or on be3 half of the agency; and 

4 ‘‘(I) the total number of agency 

5 rulemakings or other actions commenced due to 

6 a judgment or settlement; 

7 ‘‘(2) for each filed or pending civil action, a 

8 summary of the action that— 

9 ‘‘(A) describes— 

10 ‘‘(i) the nature of the action; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the cause of action asserted, in12 cluding specific statutory references; 

13 ‘‘(iii) the nature and amount of relief 

14 requested; 

15 ‘‘(iv) whether the plaintiff is a party 

16 to any other litigation against the agency; 

17 ‘‘(v) whether a claim for attorney fees 

18 has been made, and if so, the statutory 

19 basis for the claim; 

20 ‘‘(vi) the date the action was filed; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(vii) whether more than 36 months 

23 have passed since the date the action was 

24 filed; and 

25 ‘‘(B) identifies— 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1712 IS

1 ‘‘(i) the court, the presiding judge, 

2 and the case number; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the plaintiff and counsel for the 

4 plaintiff; and 

5 ‘‘(3) for each settlement or final judgment, ex6 cept a settlement or final judgment described in 

7 paragraph (4), a summary of the civil action that in8 cludes— 

9 ‘‘(A) the nature of the civil action; 

10 ‘‘(B) the amount of the payment or other 

11 relief granted or agreed; 

12 ‘‘(C) the amount of attorneys fees paid; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(D) the nature of any rulemaking or 

15 other agency action commenced due to the set16 tlement or judgment; and 

17 ‘‘(4) for each settlement or final judgment in18 volving a judgment under seal or a confidentiality 

19 agreement or order— 

20 ‘‘(A) the parties to the settlement or final 

21 judgment; and 

22 ‘‘(B) each cause of action alleged in the 

23 complaint.’’. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1712 IS

1 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

2 The table of sections for chapter 6 of title 5, United States 

3 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘613. Litigation management.’’. 

Æ 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS