[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2770 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2770
To amend titles 5 and 28, United States Code, to require annual reports
to Congress on, and the maintenance of databases on, awards of fees and
other expenses to prevailing parties in certain administrative
proceedings and court cases to which the United States is a party, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 31, 2014
Mr. Walsh introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend titles 5 and 28, United States Code, to require annual reports
to Congress on, and the maintenance of databases on, awards of fees and
other expenses to prevailing parties in certain administrative
proceedings and court cases to which the United States is a party, and
for other purposes.
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 ``Open Book on Equal Access to Justice
Act''.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE PROVISIONS.
(a) Agency Proceedings.--Section 504 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``, United States
Code'';
(2) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (i); and
(3) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
``(e)(1) Not later than March 31 of the first calendar year
beginning after the date of enactment of the Open Book on Equal Access
to Justice Act, and every year thereafter, the Chairman of the
Administrative Conference of the United States, after consultation with
the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration,
shall submit to Congress and make publicly available on an Internet Web
site a report on the amount of fees and other expenses awarded during
the preceding fiscal year under this section.
``(2) Each report under paragraph (1) shall describe the number,
nature, and amount of the awards, the claims involved in the
controversy, and any other relevant information that may aid Congress
in evaluating the scope and impact of such awards.
``(3)(A) Each report under paragraph (1) shall account for all
payments of fees and other expenses awarded under this section that are
made pursuant to a settlement agreement, regardless of whether the
settlement agreement is sealed or otherwise subject to nondisclosure
provisions.
``(B) The disclosure of fees and other expenses required under
subparagraph (A) shall not affect any other information that is subject
to a nondisclosure provision in a settlement agreement.
``(f) As soon as practicable, and in any event not later than the
date on which the first report under subsection (e)(1) is required to
be submitted, the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the
United States shall create and maintain a searchable database on an
Internet Web site containing the following information with respect to
each award of fees and other expenses under this section made on or
after the date of enactment of the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice
Act:
``(1) The case name and number of the adversary
adjudication, if available, hyperlinked to the case (if
available) in any case in which the party other than the agency
is not an individual.
``(2) The name of the agency involved in the adversary
adjudication.
``(3) A description of the claims in the adversary
adjudication.
``(4) For an award made to an individual, a statement
indicating that the award was made to an individual that shall
not include any personally identifiable information.
``(5) For an award made to a party other than an
individual, the name of the party.
``(6) The amount of the award.
``(7) The basis for the finding that the position of the
agency concerned was not substantially justified.
``(g) The searchable database described in subsection (f) may not
reveal any information the disclosure of which is prohibited by law or
a court order.
``(h) The head of each agency shall provide to the Chairman of the
Administrative Conference of the United States in a timely manner all
information requested by the Chairman to comply with the requirements
of subsections (e), (f), and (g).''.
(b) Court Cases.--Section 2412(d) of title 28, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5)(A) Not later than March 31 of the first calendar year
beginning after the date of enactment of the Open Book on Equal
Access to Justice Act, and every year thereafter, the Chairman
of the Administrative Conference of the United States, after
consultation with the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration, shall submit to Congress and make
publicly available on an Internet Web site a report on the
amount of fees and other expenses awarded during the preceding
fiscal year pursuant to this subsection.
``(B) Each report under subparagraph (A) shall describe the
number, nature, and amount of the awards, the claims involved
in the controversy, and any other relevant information that may
aid Congress in evaluating the scope and impact of such awards.
``(C)(i) Each report under subparagraph (A) shall account
for all payments of fees and other expenses awarded under this
subsection that are made pursuant to a settlement agreement,
regardless of whether the settlement agreement is sealed or
otherwise subject to nondisclosure provisions.
``(ii) The disclosure of fees and other expenses required
under clause (i) shall not affect any other information that is
subject to a nondisclosure provisions in a settlement
agreement.
``(D) As soon as practicable, and in any event not later
than the date on which the first report under subsection (e)(1)
is required to be submitted, the Chairman of the Administrative
Conference of the United States shall include and clearly
identify in each annual report under subparagraph (A), for each
case in which an award of fees and other expenses is included
in the report--
``(i) any amounts paid under section 1304 of title
31 for a judgment in the case;
``(ii) the amount of the award of fees and other
expenses; and
``(iii) the statute under which the plaintiff filed
suit.
``(6) The Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the
United States shall create and maintain a searchable database
on an Internet Web site containing the following information
with respect to each award of fees and other expenses under
this subsection:
``(A) The case name and number, hyperlinked to the
case (if available) in any case in which the party
other than the agency is not an individual.
``(B) The name of the agency involved in the case.
``(C) For an award made to an individual, a
statement indicating that the award was made to an
individual that shall not include any personally
identifiable information.
``(D) For an award made to a party other than an
individual, the name of the party.
``(E) The amount of the award.
``(F) The basis for the finding that the position
of the agency concerned was not substantially
justified.
``(7) The searchable database described in paragraph (6)
may not reveal any information the disclosure of which is
prohibited by law or a court order.
``(8) The head of each agency, including the Attorney General and
the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts,
shall provide to the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the
United States in a timely manner all information requested by the
Chairman to comply with the requirements of paragraphs (5), (6), and
(7).''.
(c) Technical Amendments.--Section 2412 of title 28, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (d)(3), by striking ``United States
Code,''; and
(2) in subsection (e)--
(A) by striking ``of section 2412 of title 28,
United States Code,'' and inserting ``of this
section''; and
(B) by striking ``of such title''.
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