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 adjudica-
tions for prevailing parties in an action against the 
United States, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Halting Government 
Overreach Act of 2015’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:22 Oct 15, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3754.IH
H3754
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. CHANGING LIMITATIONS ON RECOVERY OF FEES 
AND EXPENSES BY THE PREVAILING PARTY 
IN AN ACTION AGAINST THE UNITED STATES. 
(a) CIVIL ACTIONS.— 
(1) REMOVING THE SUBSTANTIAL JUSTIFICA-
TION EXCEPTION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Section 2412(d) of title 
28, United States Code, is amended— 
(i) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘, 
unless the court finds that the position of 
the United States was substantially justi-
fied or that special circumstances make an 
award unjust’’; 
(ii) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking 
‘‘The party shall also allege that the posi-
tion of the United States was not substan-
tially justified. Whether or not the position 
of the United States was substantially jus-
tified shall be determined on the basis of 
the record (including the record with re-
spect to the action or failure to act by the 
agency upon which the civil action is 
based) which is made in the civil action for 
which 
fees 
and 
other 
expenses 
are 
sought.’’; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:22 Oct 15, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3754.IH
H3754
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(iii) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘, 
unless the court finds that during such ad-
versary adjudication the position of the 
United States was substantially justified, 
or that special circumstances make an 
award unjust’’. 
(B) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
2412(d)(2) of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by striking subparagraph (D). 
(2) REQUIRING DIRECT AND PERSONAL INTER-
EST.—Section 2412(d)(1)(A) of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘Such award may only be made if the pre-
vailing party has a direct and personal interest in 
the action because of an injury that gave rise to the 
action.’’. 
(3) EXCLUDING NET WORTH FROM THE DEFI-
NITION OF ‘‘PARTY’’.—Section 2412(d)(2)(B) of title 
28, United States Code, is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘whose net worth did not 
exceed $2,000,000 at the time the civil action 
was filed’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘, the net worth of which 
did not exceed $7,000,000 at the time the civil 
action was filed, and’’; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:44 Oct 16, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3754.IH
H3754
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(C) by striking ‘‘; except’’ and all that fol-
lows through ‘‘defined in section 601 of title 5’’. 
(b) AGENCY ADJUDICATIONS.— 
(1) REMOVING THE SUBSTANTIAL JUSTIFICA-
TION EXCEPTION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Section 504 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(i) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘, 
unless the adjudicative officer of the agen-
cy finds that the position of the agency 
was substantially justified or that special 
circumstances make an award unjust. 
Whether or not the position of the agency 
was substantially justified shall be deter-
mined on the basis of the administrative 
record, as a whole, which is made in the 
adversary adjudication for which fees and 
other expenses are sought’’; and 
(ii) in subsection (a)(2), by striking 
‘‘The party shall also allege that the posi-
tion of the agency was not substantially 
justified.’’. 
(B) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
504(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:22 Oct 15, 2015
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3754.IH
H3754
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS