House Natural Resources subcommittee debates whether environmental groups are abusing EJA; witnesses give clashing accounts

Chair Gosar opened the Dec. 9 subcommittee hearing saying the panel would "examine the Equal Access to Justice Act or EJA" and the ways he said environmental nonprofits have used it to recover attorney fees from federal agencies. He told members the committee’s review would focus on alleged "loopholes and exemptions" that, he said, incentivize what he called "lawfare" and delay on‑the‑ground projects.

The hearing brought sharply divided testimony. Republican members and witnesses from industry groups argued that repeat litigation by well‑funded NGOs has become a de‑facto business model that drains agency budgets and stalls projects. Regina Lennox, senior litigation counsel for Safari Club International, told the panel that some 501(c)(3) organizations can have "net worths in the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars" yet recover EJA attorney fees; she urged Congress to apply net‑worth limits to nonprofits, cap awards per organization, remove "fees on fees" provisions, rescind exceptions to the $125/hour statutory cap and require direct reporting of awards to improve transparency.

Todd Wilkinson, a South Dakota rancher, said repeat litigation often forces agencies to suspend work and restudy projects,…