1-29 IAN EAJA

If you have been a friend of this program for a number of years, you may recall that one time I was on a rant over the equal access to justice laws. Remember there were all kinds of "environmental groups" who were suing the government at a rate of anywhere between $600 and $800 an hour in the name of such causes as trying to prevent ranchers from allowing their livestock to graze on public lands. It was outrageous in that we taxpayers were paying outlandish amounts of money to law firms who really had no vested interest or emotional tie in with the cause they were supposedly representing. Well a recent bill was passed in Congress and certainly championed by Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson. The bill includes a number of provisions authored by Simpson that are aimed at preserving responsible access to public land.  Among them are provisions to make public information regarding the cost of fees paid by the agencies under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA).

Simpson spokesperson Nikki Watts: "Frivolous lawsuits are one of the largest unbudgeted costs for land management agencies.  They divert funding away from critical priorities, but they are rarely accounted for by those agencies. In recent years Congressman Simpson has worked to bring these issues to light and ensure that Congress is aware of these costs—and in fact that agencies themselves are aware of them.  He is pleased that this bill expands on those efforts to bring costs under control and ensure greater accountability of taxpayer dollars."