Judgment Fund Transparency Act of 2017

Judgment Fund Transparency Act of 2017

(Sec. 2) This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to disclose details regarding payments made from the Judgment Fund on or after January 1, 2016. (The Judgment Fund is a permanent and indefinite appropriation to pay judgments against the United States.)

Unless the disclosure is prohibited by law or a court order, Treasury must disclose to the public on a website:

• the agency or entity whose actions gave rise to the claim or judgment,
• the plaintiff or claimant,
• the counsel for the plaintiff or claimant,
• the amount paid representing principal liability and any amounts paid representing any ancillary liability,
• a description of the facts that gave rise to the claim,
• the agency that submitted the claim, and
• any information available on reports generated by the Judgment Fund Payment Search administered by Treasury.

If the payment is made to a foreign state, Treasury must also disclose:

• the method of payment;
• the currency denomination used for the payment; and
• the name and location of each financial institution owned or controlled by a foreign state or an agent of a foreign state through which the payment passed, from which the payment was withdrawn, or that is holding the payment.

By January 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, Treasury must disclose on the website: (1) the total amounts paid from the fund during the preceding year; and (2) the amounts paid during the preceding year for attorney fees, interest, and for all other payments.

No payments from the fund may be made to a state sponsor of terrorism or an organization that has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization under the Immigration and Nationality Act.