Open EAJA Act of 2010
From: Budd-Falen Law Offices, LLC
300 East 18th Street
Post Office Box 346
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82033-0346
Call To Action
Tuesday March 2, 2010 Is the Day!!!
Western Legacy Alliance is proud to announce that on Tuesday, March 2, 2010, Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis (R-Wy) and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-S.Dak) will introduce the “Open EAJA Act of 2010.” This Act is a start to bringing transparency and accountability, and level the playing field in the payment of attorney fees. Research has documented that radical environmental groups are reaping millions and millions of dollars of taxpayer funding from suits against the federal government which push their radical agendas and beliefs — $42 million and counting. These groups are being paid by the federal government to sue the federal government using American taxpayer dollars.
If passed, the “Open EAJA Act of 2010″ would require the federal government to create a publicly searchable database of all attorney fees awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act (”EAJA”) including the total amount of attorney and expert fees paid in each case, the hourly attorney fee charged and who is collecting the American taxpayers’ money. This is the first step to leveling the playing field and stopping the abuse of the legal system.
I have a short-term request and a long-term request for you.
Short-term: By Tuesday morning, March 2, 2010, please e-mail or mail a note of support for this legislation. We need as many groups and organizations as possible to support the introduction of this bill.
Long-term: Upon introduction, please contact your Congressmen and request that they co-sponsor this legislation.
Shedding light on the payment of taxpayer money under EAJA will start to bring the transparency and accountability to this system. Please help to get this bill started on the right track.
Letters of support from organizations and individuals may be sent to me for forwarding or can be sent directly to Congresswoman Lummis. Please also copy <WesternLegacyAlliance at gmail.com> on your letters.
Thank You!!
Karen Budd-Falen
February 25, 2010
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BRING ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE EQUAL ACCESS JUSTICE ACT
From Save The Trails [here]
Over the years the Equal Access Justice Act (EAJA) has apparently become twisted. Research by Budd-Falen Law and others have documented radical environmental groups reaping BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars from lawsuits against the federal government, which push their radical agendas and beliefs.
These groups are being paid by the Federal Government to sue the Federal Government using American Taxpayer Dollars. This is bad for everyone and can result in needless closure of trails, elimination of ranching access or stopping much needed active management to prevent Catastrophic Wildfires.
Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-S.Dak) are going to introduce the “Open EAJA Act of 2010″ requiring accountability and transparency for the legal fees paid under the EAJA. This much needed step toward reining in the out of control EAJA needs your support in order to become law.
I hope you will join me and submit a letter of support on your club, organization or business letterhead. It will only take a minute and will help stop EAJA abuses.
Please copy and paste a sample WORD letter [here] or sample PDF letter [here] onto your LETTERHEAD or write your own letter based on the sample.
Email your letter on your LETTERHEAD back to me at <chris at SaveTheTrails.us> and we will get them delivered to the Congresswomen.
The “Open EAJA Act of 2010″ will require the Federal Government to create and publish a publicly searchable database of all attorney fees awarded under the EAJA including total amount of attorney and expert fees paid, the hourly attorney fee charged and who is collecting the American taxpayer’s money. This is the first step to reining in the EAJA.
If you are not familiar with the EAJA you can read a recent article [here] about all the lawsuits filed by green advocacy groups. Also a new video [here] identifies several of the green advocacy groups and reports the huge dollar amount of awards for attorney fees as well as direct federal grants.
Also reported are items such as total revenue, total assets, and top executive’s pay. Among the groups reviewed are the Center for Biological Diversity; Earthjustice; Natural Resources Defense Council; World Wildlife Fund; Environmental Defense Fund; National Wildlife Federation; The Nature Conservancy, and others. You can also read more about Enviro Litigation Gravy [here].
Thank you,
Chris Horgan and Your Friends at Save The Trails
Many thanks to Budd-Falen Law, Westen Legacy Alliance and Freedom 21 for the information they provided.
by Vicki Martineau
FINALLY!!!! I have been trying to create interest for disclosure from these tax dollar funded groups for a long time. The leaders and lawyers maintain a pretty good life style on the grants and I for one am sick of it. Perhaps some attention should also be paid to 501C3 organizations who appear to be well-funded via tax dollars (grants) and donations from folks who don’t know the whole story. Go EAJA of 2010!!!! Thanks and I’ll be contacting my Idaho delegation.
This could be an excellent litmus test to see who is willing to step into the light and embrace greater “transparency” and accountability. Reducing the profitablility of lawsuits is the first step to eliminating “frivilous” lawsuits that target procedure and fine print, instead of balancing impacts and benefits on the land.
It is also quite nice that it is a bi-partisan bill that has an excellent chance of passing. After all, who doesn’t want to get behind a bill to rein in eco-lawyers. There will be some resistance from states with big urban areas. The eco-lobbyists will be out in full force. I expect eco-groups to have “spin-offs” that do their dirtywork in litigation to get by the existing payoff limits.