Committee approves memorial urging Congress to tighten Equal Access to Justice Act for environmental cases
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Summary
House Joint Memorial 6, advanced by the Resource and Conservation Committee, asks Congress to reconsider how the Equal Access to Justice Act applies to environmental and natural-resource litigation; supporters said current practice encourages litigation that halts projects, while opponents were not recorded during testimony.
House Joint Memorial 6, sponsored by Representative Mark Souder, asks Congress to reevaluate the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) as it applies to environmental and natural-resource cases.
Souder told the committee the EAJA was intended to allow prevailing plaintiffs to collect legal fees against the federal government in certain circumstances, but he argued a 1989 Supreme Court interpretation had broadened eligibility in ways that, in his view, encourage litigation that delays natural-resource projects. “The purpose of the EAJA is to provide plaintiffs, citizens, an opportunity to collect legal fees when certain departments of the federal government have violated or misinterpreted laws or regulations of The United States,” Souder said.
Supporters included Russ Hendricks of the Idaho Farm Bureau, who told the committee the organization backs the memorial and is working with Idaho’s congressional delegation on changes to the federal statute. Several representatives spoke in favor on the floor of the committee, noting local economic impacts when projects are tied up in litigation.
Representative Souder moved the memorial to the House floor with a “do pass” recommendation and the committee approved the motion by voice vote. The transcript records broad member support and no roll-call tally.
What’s next: The memorial will be transmitted to the Idaho congressional delegation as a request to consider EAJA reform specific to environmental and natural-resource matters.