FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Harry M. Seidman
202.480.2085
hseidman@acus.gov
ACUS Announces Report and Database on Fiscal Year 2020 Attorney’s Fee Awards under the Equal Access to Justice Act
Washington, D.C., March 30, 2021 – The Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) is pleased to announce the release of a new report and updated online database compiling attorney’s fee awards made in fiscal year 2020 under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA).
EAJA requires federal agencies to reimburse private litigants for their attorneys’ fees when they prevail against agencies in certain adjudications and federal-court cases. Since March 2019, ACUS has been responsible for reporting the amount of EAJA fees agencies awards to prevailing parties each fiscal year (5 U.S.C. § 504, 28 U.S.C. § 2412).
With the release of the new report and updated online database, ACUS has carried out its statutory responsibilities for the reporting period covering fiscal year 2020. ACUS is pleased to report that 98% of federal agencies complied with their reporting obligations under the new law.
“ACUS welcomed this important assignment from Congress in 2019 and again thanks the sponsors of the legislation—Representatives Doug Collins and Steve Cohen, and Senators John Barrasso and Chris Coons—for entrusting it to ACUS,” said Matthew L. Wiener, ACUS’s Vice Chairman and Executive Director. “ACUS ably discharged its responsibilities and is confident this report will help Congress evaluate how well EAJA is meeting its objectives. ACUS thanks the many agency officials throughout the federal government for their collective efforts and looks forward to continuing this shared effort in the years to come.”
Learn more about EAJA and ACUS’s statutory responsibilities at www.acus.gov/EAJA.
About ACUS
The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent federal agency dedicated to improving the administrative process through consensus-driven applied research and providing nonpartisan expert advice and recommendations for federal agency procedures. Its membership is composed of senior federal officials, academics, and other experts from the private sector. Except for the Chairman, all Conference Members are unpaid.
The Conference is committed to promoting effective public participation and efficiency in the rulemaking process by leveraging interactive technologies and encouraging open communication with the public as well as making improvements to the regulatory process by reducing unnecessary litigation, and improving the use of science and the effectiveness of applicable laws.
Learn more at www.acus.gov.
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