Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Feb 14, 2017
Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act
This bill amends the Equal Access to Justice Act and the federal judicial code to require the Administrative Conference of the United States to create and maintain online searchable databases with information about the attorney's fees and other expenses awarded to prevailing parties other than the United States in certain: (1) agency-conducted adversary adjudication proceedings, and (2) civil action court cases (excluding tort cases) or settlement agreements to which the United States is a party.
With respect to each award, the information must include: (1) the name of the agency involved, (2) the name of each party to whom the award was made, (3) a description of the claims, (4) the amount of the award, and (5) the basis for finding that the position of the agency concerned was not substantially justified. Under current law, the awards are made unless the position of the agency was substantially justified or special circumstances make an award unjust.
Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze S.378 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine S.378 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine S.378 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine S.378 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.