Political Quotes

“I thank my colleague and Republican leader of the Steering Committee, Mr. Collins, as well as my colleague, Mr. Cohen from Tennessee, for their work on this important issue. I thank Chairman Nadler, of course, for helping to bring this important bill to the floor. Of course, I echo my colleagues' fond words for my predecessor, Congresswoman Lummis, and all the work she did over the years on this issue and so many others for our great State. I thank them the opportunity to speak on this important bill. Mr. Speaker, the Equal Access to Justice Act was enacted in 1980 for good reason: to ensure that private citizens could obtain legal representation in cases against the Federal Government, in cases where it was deserved. While the Equal Access to Justice Act serves that important purpose in holding these Federal agencies accountable, in the past 20 years, we have seen this process abused too often by outside organizations. This program was intended to help everyday citizens seek justice, but those seeking profits have also had access to this program. They have effectively turned the Equal Access to Justice Act into their own personal wallet through frivolous lawsuits. This program was never intended to be a slush fund for serial litigators. Making matters worse, the perversion of the Equal Access to Justice Act is funded by American taxpayers.…”