Russ Feingold: “today I plan to introduce the Equal Access to Justice Reform Act of 2005. This legislation contains adjustments to the…”

“today I plan to introduce the Equal Access to Justice Reform Act of 2005. This legislation contains adjustments to the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) that will streamline and improve the process of awarding attorneys' fees to private parties who prevail in litigation against the Federal Government. This is the fifth Congress in which I have introduced EAJA reform. I believe this reform is an important step toward reducing the burden of defending government litigation for many individuals and small businesses. I am very pleased to be joined in introducing this legislation this year by my friend from Maine, Senator Olympia Snowe, who chairs the Small Business Committee. We hope that by working together on a bipartisan basis, we will increase the chances that this important project will become law. The legislation we are proposing today deals directly with a problem that affects small businesses and individual Americans across this country who face legal battles with the Federal Government. Even if they win in court, they may lose financially because they incur the great expense of paying their attorneys. It is important to understand what the Equal Access to Justice Act is, and why it exists. The premise of this statute is very simple. EAJA seeks to level the playing field for individuals and small businesses that face the United States government in litigation.…”