Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. LUMMIS. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2919, the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act. I want to thank the ranking member, Steve Cohen, for joining me in introducing this legislation. The gentleman from Tennessee was the person from whom I inherited the hallowed halls of Longworth 1004. Our staff shared duties, including each other's phone duties when meetings were being held in our offices. It was a great partnership and a wonderful bipartisan relationship that I have enjoyed ever since coming to Congress.

I deeply thank the gentleman from Tennessee for his friendship. He was instrumental in securing bipartisan support for passage of H.R. 2919 through the Judiciary Committee.

H.R. 2919 reinstates the tracking and reporting of attorneys fees paid out by the Federal Government under the Equal Access to Justice Act, also known as EAJA.

EAJA was first enacted in 1980, with the goal of protecting small businesses and other citizens facing unreasonable government action. It was meant to address the David and Goliath situation that exists when a citizen has to go to court against the Federal Government's vast financial and legal resources.

Consistent with this theme, EAJA was amended in 1985 to facilitate its application to Social Security claims. It was again amended in 1992 to include claims before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

EAJA has been subject to numerous reviews and revisions over the years to keep it up to date. Its requirement for agencies to track and report on attorneys' fees helped inform Congress in its past efforts to improve the law. This transparency was also a safeguard for the Federal taxpayers who finance the law.

Prior to 1995, EAJA payments trickled out at a rate of about $3 million annually. But since tracking and reporting requirements were eliminated in 1995, EAJA has operated in the dark.

As a Government Accountability Office report made clear, most agencies do not track payments--and won't--unless Congress gives them direction to do so. Madam Speaker, that is why we are here today.

As the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), mentioned, we only have anecdotal evidence as to how much we are spending on attorney fees, which agencies pay out the fees, and for what types of claims. We need transparency to better monitor this law moving forward.

H.R. 2919 both reinstates transparency and improves it by requiring the information be posted online in a searchable database. We owe this to the small businesses, veterans, Social Security claimants, and others who rely on EAJA for their once-in-a-lifetime court battles with the Federal Government. And we owe it to the hardworking taxpayers who are financing this law.

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Mrs. LUMMIS. Madam Speaker, in great appreciation and deference to the gentleman on the Judiciary Committee, and especially to my cosponsor, Mr. Cohen, I gratefully acknowledge his cosponsorship--he supported this bill--and the hard work of the House Judiciary Committee.

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