H.R. 9295

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9295 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9295

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.

_______________________________________________________________________

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.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Serial Litigation Act of 
2026''.

SEC. 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;''.

SEC. 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.''.
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