NCBA Warns Congress About ‘Sue-and-Settle’ Abuse

The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on the Abuse of the Equal Access to Justice Act yesterday.

Todd Wilkinson, South Dakota cattle producer and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association past president, testified on the rampant EAJA abuse by environmental groups that have become repeat litigants as soon as Congress discontinued reporting requirements in 1995.

“EAJA was created with the best intentions, to allow Americans to challenge government actions without facing crushing legal costs. Unfortunately, like so many well-intentioned programs, it became vulnerable to abuse when oversight faded. Today, EAJA allows payments not only to parties who prevail in court but also to those who settle or enter consent decrees. This allows radical environmental groups to collect EAJA fees while forcing agencies to change policy through settlements,” Wilkinson said. “Too often, these lawsuits are filed with the sole purpose of coercing federal agencies into settlements that drive policy changes. That’s not responsible governance — that’s forced manipulation. Congress needs to reform EAJA to stop this rampant abuse for financial and political gain by improving reporting requirements, establishing financial limitations on tax-exempt organizations, and capping the legal fees paid to these groups under EAJA.”

In 2013, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that 71 sue-and-settle cases resulted in more than 100 new regulations and more than $100 million in new annual compliance costs for federal agencies.

Since that time, costs have continued to stack up, straining already tight budgets and greatly reducing government efficiency. EAJA has the right level of financial limits for individuals and businesses, and these limits should be amended to include non-profits.

“Groups whose sole mission is to sue the federal government should not be able to continue coming back to EAJA to fund their political efforts,” wrote the NCBA in a press release.