H.R. 9295

119 HR 9295 IH: Stop Serial Litigation Act of 2026
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-06-11
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 9295  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   June 11, 2026   Mr. Rulli  introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary    A BILL
To amend  chapter 5  of title 5, United States Code, and  chapter 161  of title 28, United States Code, to provide a maximum amount for the fees and other expenses that may be awarded in connection with an agency adjudication, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Stop Serial Litigation Act of 2026  .
2.
Fees and other expenses in agency adjudications
Section 504 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)—
(A)
in paragraph (2), by striking  the actual time expended and the rate at which fees and other expenses were computed  and inserting  the actual total time expended, the rate at which fees and other expenses were computed, the dates on which tasks were performed, the actual time expended on each such task, and a descriptor of each such task ; and
(B)
by adding at the end the following:
(5)
Except in the case of an adversary adjudication conducted by the Veteran’s Administration or the Social Security Administration, an award of fees and other expenses under this section may not exceed—
(A)
in the case of a party that is an organization described in  section 501(c)(3)  of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 ( 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) ) exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code, $300,000 during a 1-year period; or
(B)
in the case of a party that is any owner of an unincorporated business, or any partnership, corporation, association, unit of local government, or organization, $300,000 during a 1-year period.
  ; and
(2)
in subsection (b)(1)(A), by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
(A)
 fees and other expenses  includes the reasonable expenses of expert witnesses, the reasonable cost of any study, analysis, engineering report, test, or project which is found by the agency to be necessary for the preparation of the party’s case, and reasonable attorney or agent fees, and the amount of fees awarded under this subsection shall be based upon prevailing market rates for the kind and quality of the services furnished, except that—
(i)
no expert witness shall be compensated at a rate in excess of the highest rate of compensation for expert witnesses paid by the agency involved; and
(ii)
attorney or agent fees shall not be awarded in excess of—
(I)
in the case of an adversary adjudication conducted by the Veteran’s Administration or the Social Security Administration, $125 per hour, unless the agency determines by regulation that an increase in the cost of living or a special factor, such as the limited availability of qualified attorneys or agents for the proceedings involved, justifies a higher fee; or
(II)
in the case of an adversary adjudication conducted by any other agency, $175 per hour (beginning in the first fiscal year that begins 5 years after the date of enactment of the Stop Serial Litigation Act of 2026, adjusted annually for inflation to the nearest lower dollar increment to reflect changes for the 12-month period ending on the preceding June 30 in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor), except that the fees awarded for the adjudication of the issue of whether the position of the agency was substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust shall not be awarded in excess of the amount that is half of the hourly fee otherwise awarded;
 .
3.
Fees and other expenses in civil actions
Section 2412(d) of title 28, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (2)—
(A)
by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
(A)
 fees and other expenses  includes the reasonable expenses of expert witnesses, the reasonable cost of any study, analysis, engineering report, test, or project which is found by the court to be necessary for the preparation of the party’s case, and reasonable attorney fees, and the amount of fees awarded under this subsection shall be based upon prevailing market rates for the kind and quality of the services furnished, except that—
(i)
no expert witness shall be compensated at a rate in excess of the highest rate of compensation for expert witnesses paid by the United States; and
(ii)
attorney fees shall not be awarded in excess of—
(I)
in the case of a civil action brought by or against the Veteran’s Administration or the Social Security Administration, $125 per hour unless the court determines that an increase in the cost of living or a special factor, such as the limited availability of qualified attorneys for the proceedings involved, justifies a higher fee; or
(II)
in the case of a civil action brought by or against any other agency, $175 per hour (beginning in the first fiscal year that begins 5 years after the date of enactment of the Stop Serial Litigation Act of 2026, adjusted annually for inflation to the nearest lower dollar increment to reflect changes for the 12-month period ending on the preceding June 30 in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor), except that the fees awarded for the adjudication of the issue of whether the position of the United States was substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust shall not be awarded in excess of the amount that is half of the hourly fee otherwise awarded;
 ; and
(B)
in subparagraph (B), by striking  the actual time expended and the rate at which fees and other expenses were computed  and inserting  the actual total time expended, the rate at which fees and other expenses were computed, the dates on which tasks were performed, the actual time expended on each such task, and a descriptor of each such task ; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:
(9)
 Except in the case of a civil action brought by or against the Veteran’s Administration or the Social Security Administration, an award of fees and other expenses under this section may not exceed—
(A)
in the case of a party that is an organization described in  section 501(c)(3)  of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 ( 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) ) exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code, $300,000 during a 1-year period; or
(B)
in the case of a party that is any owner of an unincorporated business, or any partnership, corporation, association, unit of local government, or organization, $300,000 during a 1-year period.
 .