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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1637 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.1637

                      One Hundred Twelfth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
            the fifth day of January, two thousand and eleven

                                 An Act

 
 To clarify appeal time limits in civil actions to which United States 
                   officers or employees are parties.

    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 ``Appeal Time Clarification Act of 
2011''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    Congress finds that--
        (1) section 2107 of title 28, United States Code, and rule 4 of 
    the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure provide that the time to 
    appeal for most civil actions is 30 days, but that the appeal time 
    for all parties is 60 days when the parties in the civil action 
    include the United States, a United States officer, or a United 
    States agency;
        (2) the 60-day period should apply if one of the parties is--
            (A) the United States;
            (B) a United States agency;
            (C) a United States officer or employee sued in an official 
        capacity; or
            (D) a current or former United States officer or employee 
        sued in an individual capacity for an act or omission occurring 
        in connection with duties performed on behalf of the United 
        States;
        (3) section 2107 of title 28, United States Code, and rule 4 of 
    the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (as amended to take effect 
    on December 1, 2011, in accordance with section 2074 of that title) 
    should uniformly apply the 60-day period to those civil actions 
    relating to a Federal officer or employee sued in an individual 
    capacity for an act or omission occurring in connection with 
    Federal duties;
        (4) the civil actions to which the 60-day periods should apply 
    include all civil actions in which a legal officer of the United 
    States represents the relevant officer or employee when the 
    judgment or order is entered or in which the United States files 
    the appeal for that officer or employee; and
        (5) the application of the 60-day period in section 2107 of 
    title 28, United States Code, and rule 4 of the Federal Rules of 
    Appellate Procedure--
            (A) is not limited to civil actions in which representation 
        of the United States is provided by the Department of Justice; 
        and
            (B) includes all civil actions in which the representation 
        of the United States is provided by a Federal legal officer 
        acting in an official capacity, such as civil actions in which 
        a Member, officer, or employee of the Senate or the House of 
        Representatives is represented by the Office of Senate Legal 
        Counsel or the Office of General Counsel of the House of 
        Representatives.
SEC. 3. TIME FOR APPEALS TO COURT OF APPEALS.
    Section 2107 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by 
striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
    ``(b) In any such action, suit, or proceeding, the time as to all 
parties shall be 60 days from such entry if one of the parties is--
        ``(1) the United States;
        ``(2) a United States agency;
        ``(3) a United States officer or employee sued in an official 
    capacity; or
        ``(4) a current or former United States officer or employee 
    sued in an individual capacity for an act or omission occurring in 
    connection with duties performed on behalf of the United States, 
    including all instances in which the United States represents that 
    officer or employee when the judgment, order, or decree is entered 
    or files the appeal for that officer or employee.''.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
    The amendment made by this Act shall take effect on December 1, 
2011.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.
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