Harriet Hageman on EAJA Lawsuits Funding Environmental NGOs and Harming US Projects

Misuse of the EAJA for NGO Litigation

• 💡 The Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) was intended to protect veterans, social security recipients, and small businesses from federal overreach.
• 🎯 However, it is now being used to fund the "lawfare" of environmental NGOs, forcing taxpayers to fund projects that harm American interests.
• 💰 From fiscal years 2019-2024, federal agencies paid $24.8 million in EAJA awards, with approximately 76% going to environmental NGOs.

Impact on Infrastructure and Public Safety Projects

• 🚧 Environmental NGOs use lawsuits to stop the construction of roads, energy projects, and other infrastructure vital to American lives.
• ⚠️ A specific example highlights a public safety project being targeted, demonstrating the morally and ethically corrupt nature of these organizations.
• 📈 The cost of these dilatory legal tactics includes at least $200,000 in attorney fees to nonprofits, plus unknown costs to government departments and the DOJ for defense.

EAJA Awards and Judicial Review

• ⚖️ Inflated EAJA awards granted at the lower court level are often kept by NGOs, even if the case is later overturned on appeal.
• ⏳ A curious timeline shows an NGO receiving EAJA fees in 2018, challenging a project in 2020, and going to the Supreme Court in 2023.
• 🔍 There are significant questions about how these funds are paid and to which organizations.

Fundamental Abuse of the EAJA

• 📉 The EAJA has been fundamentally abused for years, hindering the ability to produce and create projects in the United States.
• 🏭 This abuse has negatively impacted the agriculture, logging, oil and gas, and other energy industries.
• 🛠️ Reforms are needed to either remove the EAJA entirely or fundamentally reform it to prevent further damage.