II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 549 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 10, 2011 

Mr. ENSIGN (for himself, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. VITTER, Mr. 

ENZI, Mr. CRAPO, and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and 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. 

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 ‘‘Casting Light on 

5 EAJA Agency Records for Oversight Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Equal Access to Justice Act, estab2 lished in 1980 to provide small businesses, individ3 uals, and public interest groups the opportunity to 

4 recover attorney fees and costs, is funded through a 

5 permanent Congressional appropriation. 

6 (2) The Equal Access to Justice Act, as passed, 

7 includes statutory reporting requirements to Con8 gress on the administration and payments funded 

9 through the Act. 

10 (3) The Department of Justice and the Admin11 istrative Conference of the United States ceased re12 porting to Congress on EAJA payments and admin13 istration in 1995. 

14 (4) Payments authorized by EAJA have contin15 ued every year without Congressional oversight. 

16 SEC. 3. DATA COMPILATION, REPORTING, AND PUBLIC AC17 CESS. 

18 (a) REPORTING IN AGENCY ADJUDICATIONS.—Sec19 tion 504(c) of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘After con21 sultation with the Chairman of the Administrative 

22 Conference of the United States, each’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘Each’’; and 

24 (2) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(e)(1) The Attorney General of the United States 

2 shall issue an annual, online report to the Congress on 

3 the amount of fees and other expenses awarded during the 

4 preceding fiscal year under this section. The report shall 

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

6 the claims involved in the controversy, a justification for 

7 awards exceeding the cap provided in subsection (b)(1)(A), 

8 and any other relevant information that may aid the Con9 gress in evaluating the scope and impact of such awards. 

10 The report shall be made available to the public online, 

11 and contain a searchable database, total awards given, and 

12 total number of applications for the award of fees and 

13 other expenses that were filed, defended, and heard, and 

14 shall include, with respect to each such application, the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(A) Name of the party seeking the award of 

17 fees and other expenses. 

18 ‘‘(B) The agency to which the application for 

19 the award was made. 

20 ‘‘(C) The name of administrative law judges in 

21 the case. 

22 ‘‘(D) The disposition of the application, includ23 ing any appeal of action taken on the application. 


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1 ‘‘(E) The hourly rates of attorneys and expert 

2 witnesses stated in the application that was award3 ed. 

4 ‘‘(2) The report under paragraph (1) shall cover pay5 ments of fees and other expenses under this section that 

6 are made under a settlement agreement. 

7 ‘‘(3) Each agency shall provide the Attorney General 

8 with such information as is necessary for the Attorney 

9 General to comply with the requirements of this sub10 section.’’. 

11 (b) REPORTING IN COURT CASES.—Section 2412(d) 

12 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

13 after paragraph (4), the following: 

14 ‘‘(5) The Attorney General of the United States shall 

15 issue an annual, online report to the Congress on the 

16 amount of fees and other expenses awarded during the 

17 preceding fiscal year under this subsection. The report 

18 shall describe the number, nature, and amount of the 

19 awards, the claims involved in the controversy, a justifica20 tion for awards exceeding the cap provided in paragraph 

21 (2)(A)(ii), and any other relevant information that may 

22 aid the Congress in evaluating the scope and impact of 

23 such awards. The report shall be made available to the 

24 public online and shall contain a searchable database of 

25 total awards given and the total number of cases filed, 


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1 defended, or heard, and shall include with respect to each 

2 such case the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) The name of the party seeking the award 

4 of fees and other expenses in the case. 

5 ‘‘(B) The district court hearing the case. 

6 ‘‘(C) The names of presiding judges in the case. 

7 ‘‘(D) The name of the agency involved in the 

8 case. 

9 ‘‘(E) The disposition of the application for fees 

10 and other expenses, including any appeal of action 

11 taken on the application. 

12 ‘‘(F) The hourly rates of attorneys and expert 

13 witnesses stated in the application that was award14 ed. 

15 The report under this paragraph shall cover payments of 

16 fees and other expenses under this subsection that are 

17 made under a settlement agreement.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. GAO STUDY. 

19 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 

20 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall commence an 

21 audit of the Equal Access to Justice Act for the years 

22 1995 through the end of the calendar year in which this 

23 Act is enacted. The Comptroller General shall, not later 

24 than 1 year after the end of the calendar year in which 


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1 this Act is enacted, complete such audit and submit to 

2 the Congress a report on the results of the audit. 

Æ 


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