Ensuring Access to Justice for Claims Against the United States Act
Latest action · Jul 8, 2015 Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 14, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Ensuring Access to Justice for Claims Against the United States Act
Amends the federal judicial code with respect to the jurisdiction of federal courts over civil actions pending in, or on appeal from, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (USCFC) when the plaintiff also has pending in another federal court a civil action that includes a claim against the United States (or an agency or officer of the United States) arising from the same set of operative facts.
Requires the court presiding over the action that was filed later to stay the later action until the action that was filed first is no longer pending. (Currently, the USCFC is prohibited from having jurisdiction of any claim in which the plaintiff has pending in any other court any suit or process against the United States or any person who was acting or professing to act under the authority of the United States.)
Provides an exception to the requirement to stay the later action if: (1) the parties in each of the actions agree; or (2) in exceptional circumstances the court finds, upon the motion of any party, that termination or modification of the stay is necessary to preserve material evidence or to prevent irreparable prejudice to that party.
Provides the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit with jurisdiction of an appeal from an interlocutory order terminating or modifying such a stay.
Cosponsors 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 14, 2015 to Jul 7, 2015; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-RI | David N. Cicilline | Original | May 14, 2015 |
| R-TX | Lamar Smith | Jul 7, 2015 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred May 14, 2015Markup Jul 8, 2015 |
| Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee | Referred Jun 26, 2015Discharged Jul 7, 2015 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 8, 2015Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Jul 8, 2015Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
- Jul 7, 2015Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice Discharged.
- Jun 26, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
- May 14, 2015Introduced in House
- May 14, 2015Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Sep 29, 2015H.R. 2329, Ensuring Access to Justice for Claims Against the United States ActAs ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on July 8, 2015
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 74, May 14, 2015, page H3213.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1353 | Ensuring Access to Justice for Claims Against the United States Act | Identical bill | May 14, 2015 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To ensure appropriate judicial review of Federal Government actions by amending the prohibition on the exercise of jurisdiction by the United States Court of Federal Claims of certain claims pending in other courts.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Ensuring Access to Justice for Claims Against the United States Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Law.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 14, 2015Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
