IB 

Union Calendar No. 429 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1996 

[Report No. 112–594] 

To amend titles 5 and 28, United States Code, with respect to the award 

of fees and other expenses in cases brought against agencies of the 

United States, to require the Administrative Conference 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 

MAY 25, 2011 

Mrs. LUMMIS (for herself, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. CHAFFETZ, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. TIPTON, 

Mr. DENHAM, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. REHBERG, Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado, 

Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. NUNES, Mrs. NOEM, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. 

DUNCAN of Tennessee, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. HERGER, and Mr. FLAKE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

JULY 11, 2012 

Additional sponsors: Mr. WALDEN, Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. STUTZMAN, Mr. MARCHANT, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. COSTA, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. ROSS of Florida, 

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. SMITH of Nebraska, Mr. LABRADOR, 

Mrs. HARTZLER, Ms. FOXX, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. 

LATTA, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. PAUL, Mr. JONES, Mr. 

BENISHEK, Mrs. ADAMS, Mr. DUFFY, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. CALVERT, 

Mr. GIBBS, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. 

COBLE, Mr. QUAYLE, Mr. HULTGREN, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. FLORES, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. FLEMING, Mr. CANSECO, Mr. GRAVES of Georgia, Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Mr. NUNNELEE, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. CRAVAACK, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, 

Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. BERG, Mr. GARDNER, and Mr. WESTMORELAND

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JULY 11, 2012 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 25, 2011] 

A BILL 

To amend titles 5 and 28, United States Code, with respect 

to the award of fees and other expenses in cases brought 

against agencies of the United States, to require the 

Administrative Conference of the United States to compile, and make publically available, certain data relating 

to the Equal Access to Justice Act, and for other purposes. 

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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 ‘‘Government Litigation 

5 Savings Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE PRO7 VISIONS. 

8 (a) AGENCY PROCEEDINGS.—Section 504 of title 5, 

9 United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1)—— 

12 (i) by inserting after the first sentence 

13 the following: ‘‘Fees and other expenses may 

14 be awarded under this subsection only to a 

15 prevailing party who has a direct and per16 sonal interest in the adversary adjudication 

17 because of medical costs, property damage, 

18 denial of benefits, unpaid disbursement, fees 

19 and other expenses incurred in defense of 

20 the adjudication, interest in a policy con21 cerning such medical costs, property dam22 age, denial of benefits, unpaid disbursement, 

23 or fees and other expenses, or otherwise.’’; 

24 and 

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1 (ii) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘The agency conducting the adversary adju3 dication shall make any party against 

4 whom the adjudication is brought, at the 

5 time the adjudication is commenced, aware 

6 of the provisions of this section.’’; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (3), in the first sen8 tence— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘may reduce’’ and in10 serting ‘‘shall reduce’’; and 

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘unduly and unreason12 ably’’ and inserting ‘‘unduly or unreason13 ably’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 

16 ‘‘$125 per hour’’ and all that follows through the 

17 end and inserting ‘‘$200 per hour.);’’; and 

18 (B) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘; 

19 except that’’ and all that follows through ‘‘section 

20 601;’’ and inserting ‘‘except that— 

21 ‘‘(I) the net worth of a party (other than an 

22 individual or a unit of local government) shall 

23 include the net worth of any parent entity or 

24 subsidiary of that party; and 

25 ‘‘(II) for purposes of subclause (I)— 

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1 ‘‘(aa) a ‘parent entity’ of a party is an 

2 entity that owns or controls the equity or 

3 other evidences of ownership in that party; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(bb) a ‘subsidiary’ of a party is an 

6 entity the equity or other evidences of own7 ership in which are owned or controlled by 

8 that party;’’; 

9 (3) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘, United 

10 States Code’’; and 

11 (4) by striking subsections (e) and (f) and insert12 ing the following: 

13 ‘‘(e)(1) The Chairman of the Administrative Con14 ference of the United States, after consultation with the 

15 Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Adminis16 tration, shall report annually to the Congress on the 

17 amount of fees and other expenses awarded during the pre18 ceding fiscal year pursuant to this section. The report shall 

19 describe the number, nature, and amount of the awards, 

20 the claims involved in the controversy, and any other rel21 evant information that may aid the Congress in evaluating 

22 the scope and impact of such awards. Each agency shall 

23 provide the Chairman in a timely manner all information 

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1 ments of this subsection. The report shall be made available 

2 to the public online. 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) The report required by paragraph (1) shall ac4 count for all payments of fees and other expenses awarded 

5 under this section that are made pursuant to a settlement 

6 agreement, regardless of whether the settlement agreement 

7 is sealed or otherwise subject to nondisclosure provisions, 

8 except that any version of the report made available to the 

9 public may not reveal any information the disclosure of 

10 which is contrary to the national security of the United 

11 States. 

12 ‘‘(B) The disclosure of fees and other expenses required 

13 under subparagraph (A) does not affect any other informa14 tion that is subject to nondisclosure provisions in the settle15 ment agreement. 

16 ‘‘(f) The Chairman of the Administrative Conference 

17 shall create and maintain online a searchable database con18 taining the following information with respect to each 

19 award of fees and other expenses under this section: 

20 ‘‘(1) The name of each party to whom the award 

21 was made. 

22 ‘‘(2) The name of each counsel of record rep23 resenting each party to whom the award was made. 

24 ‘‘(3) The agency to which the application for the 

25 award was made. 

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1 ‘‘(4) The name of each counsel of record rep2 resenting the agency to which the application for the 

3 award was made. 

4 ‘‘(5) The name of each administrative law judge, 

5 and the name of any other agency employee serving 

6 in an adjudicative role, in the adversary adjudication 

7 that is the subject of the application for the award. 

8 ‘‘(6) The amount of the award. 

9 ‘‘(7) The names and hourly rates of each expert 

10 witness for whose services the award was made under 

11 the application. 

12 ‘‘(8) The basis for the finding that the position 

13 of the agency concerned was not substantially justi14 fied. 

15 ‘‘(g) The online searchable database described in sub16 section (f) may not reveal any information the disclosure 

17 of which is prohibited by law or court order, or the disclo18 sure of which is contrary to the national security of the 

19 United States. 

20 ‘‘(h) The Director of the Office of Management and 

21 Budget shall adjust the maximum hourly fee set forth in 

22 subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii) for the fiscal year beginning October 

23 1, 2012, and for each fiscal year thereafter, to reflect 

24 changes in the Consumer Price Index, as determined by the 

25 Secretary of Labor.’’. 

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1 (b) COURT CASES.—Section 2412(d) of title 28, United 

2 States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) by amending paragraph (1)(A) to read as 

4 follows: ‘‘(A) Except as otherwise specifically provided 

5 by statute, a court, in any civil action (other than 

6 cases sounding in tort), including proceedings for ju7 dicial review of agency action, brought by or against 

8 the United States in any court having jurisdiction of 

9 that action, shall award to a prevailing party (other 

10 than the United States) fees and other expenses, in 

11 addition to any costs awarded pursuant to subsection 

12 (a), incurred by that party in the civil action, unless 

13 the court finds that the position of the United States 

14 was substantially justified or that special cir15 cumstances make an award unjust. Fees and other ex16 penses may be awarded under this paragraph only to 

17 a prevailing party who has a direct and personal in18 terest in the civil action because of medical costs, 

19 property damage, denial of benefits, unpaid disburse20 ment, fees and other expenses incurred in defense of 

21 the civil action, interest in a policy concerning such 

22 medical costs, property damage, denial of benefits, 

23 unpaid disbursement, or fees and other expenses, or 

24 otherwise.’’; 

25 (2) in paragraph (1)(C)— 

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1 (A) by striking ‘‘court, in its discretion, 

2 may’’ and inserting ‘‘court shall’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘unduly and unreasonably’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘unduly or unreasonably’’; 

5 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 

7 ‘‘$125’’ and all that follows through the end and 

8 inserting ‘‘$200 per hour.);’’; 

9 (B) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘; 

10 except that’’ and all that follows through ‘‘section 

11 601 of title 5;’’ and inserting ‘‘except that— 

12 ‘‘(I) the net worth of a party (other than an 

13 individual or a unit of local government) shall 

14 include the net worth of any parent entity or 

15 subsidiary of that party; and 

16 ‘‘(II) for purposes of subclause (I)— 

17 ‘‘(aa) a ‘parent entity’ of a party is an 

18 entity that owns or controls the equity or 

19 other evidences of ownership in that party; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(bb) a ‘subsidiary’ of a party is an 

22 entity the equity or other evidences of own23 ership in which are owned or controlled by 

24 that party;’’; and 

25 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

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1 ‘‘(5) The Director of the Office of Management and 

2 Budget shall adjust the maximum hourly fee set forth in 

3 paragraph (2)(A)(ii) for the fiscal year beginning October 

4 1, 2012, and for each fiscal year thereafter, to reflect 

5 changes in the Consumer Price Index, as determined by the 

6 Secretary of Labor. 

7 ‘‘(6)(A) The Chairman of the Administrative Con8 ference of the United States shall report annually to the 

9 Congress on the amount of fees and other expenses awarded 

10 during the preceding fiscal year pursuant to this subsection. 

11 The report shall describe the number, nature, and amount 

12 of the awards, the claims involved in each controversy, and 

13 any other relevant information which may aid the Congress 

14 in evaluating the scope and impact of such awards. Each 

15 agency shall provide the Chairman with such information 

16 as is necessary for the Chairman to comply with the re17 quirements of this paragraph. The report shall be made 

18 available to the public online. 

19 ‘‘(B)(i) The report required by subparagraph (A) shall 

20 account for all payments of fees and other expenses awarded 

21 under this subsection that are made pursuant to a settle22 ment agreement, regardless of whether the settlement agree23 ment is sealed or otherwise subject to nondisclosure provi24 sions, except that any version of the report made available 

25 to the public may not reveal any information the disclosure 

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1 of which is contrary to the national security of the United 

2 States. 

3 ‘‘(ii) The disclosure of fees and other expenses required 

4 under clause (i) does not affect any other information that 

5 is subject to nondisclosure provisions in the settlement 

6 agreement. 

7 ‘‘(C) The Chairman of the Administrative Conference 

8 shall include and clearly identify in the annual report 

9 under subparagraph (A), for each case in which an award 

10 of fees and other expenses is included in the report— 

11 ‘‘(i) any amounts paid from section 1304 of title 

12 31 for a judgment in the case; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the amount of the award of fees and other 

14 expenses; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) the statute under which the plaintiff filed 

16 suit. 

17 ‘‘(7) The Chairman of the Administrative Conference 

18 shall create and maintain online a searchable database con19 taining the following information with respect to each 

20 award of fees and other expenses under this subsection: 

21 ‘‘(A) The name of each party to whom the award 

22 was made. 

23 ‘‘(B) The name of each counsel of record rep24 resenting each party to whom the award was made. 

25 ‘‘(C) The agency involved in the case. 

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1 ‘‘(D) The name of each counsel of record rep2 resenting the agency involved in the case. 

3 ‘‘(E) The name of each judge in the case, and the 

4 court in which the case was heard. 

5 ‘‘(F) The amount of the award. 

6 ‘‘(G) The names and hourly rates of each expert 

7 witness for whose services the award was made. 

8 ‘‘(H) The basis for the finding that the position 

9 of the agency concerned was not substantially justi10 fied. 

11 ‘‘(8) The online searchable database described in para12 graph (7) may not reveal any information the disclosure 

13 of which is prohibited by law or court order, or the disclo14 sure of which is contrary to the national security of the 

15 United States. 

16 ‘‘(9) The Attorney General of the United States shall 

17 provide to the Chairman of the Administrative Conference 

18 of the United States in a timely manner all information 

19 necessary for the Chairman to carry out the Chairman’s 

20 responsibilities under this subsection.’’. 

21 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 2412(e) of title 

22 28, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘of section 

23 2412 of title 28, United States Code,’’ and inserting ‘‘of this 

24 section’’. 

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1 SEC. 3. GAO STUDY. 

2 Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment 

3 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall commence an 

4 audit of the implementation of the Equal Access to Justice 

5 Act for the years 1995 through the end of the calendar year 

6 in which this Act is enacted. The Comptroller General shall, 

7 to the extent practical, not later than 1 year after the end 

8 of the calendar year in which this Act is enacted, complete 

9 such audit and submit to the Congress a report on the re10 sults of the audit. 

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Union Calendar No. 429 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1996 

[Report No. 112–594] 

A BILL 

To amend titles 5 and 28, United States Code, with 

poses. Equal Access to Justice Act, and for other purlically available, certain data relating to the of the United States to compile, and make pubStates, to require the Administrative Conference in cases brought against agencies of the United respect to the award of fees and other expenses 

JULY 11, 2012 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 

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