Carolyn Maloney: “Thank you, Madam Chair. This is one of two amendments that Mrs. Lummis has submitted. She has indicated that she will…”

“Thank you, Madam Chair. This is one of two amendments that Mrs. Lummis has submitted. She has indicated that she will not be offering her other amendment, and we are very pleased as we had some serious concerns about that amendment. This amendment I am supporting, though, would require Federal agencies to gather valuable data, and it would require the Administrative Conference of the United States to issue a report based on that data. This report would help taxpayers and Congress determine where taxpayer funds flow under the Equal Access to Justice Act. This amendment has merit. We should have mechanisms in place to track where taxpayer money goes, and the reports this amendment requires will help Congress conduct more thorough oversight over Federal agencies. There are still some concerns that some have raised about the extent to which the data will be made public. This data could include names of Social Security claimants and veterans who bring claims under EAJA, and this may have a chilling effect on those claimants. We are willing to work with Mrs. Lummis to address these concerns. Mrs. Lummis, herself, has raised more specific concerns with how EAJA has been used and urges Congress to amend the act. The committee held a hearing and marked up her bill. The reported bill contained several needed improvements to address many of our concerns on this side of the aisle. We thank her for working with us on these changes.…”