House Nat Resources SubCmte Hearing: Environmental NGOs Abuse of Justice Act

Abuse of the Equal Access to Justice Act by Environmental NGOs
Committee: House Natural Resources
Subcommittee: House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=418492

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a non-profit, citizen-based group that functions independently of government, typically organized to address issues in support of the public good. The term was first introduced in Article 71 of the United Nations Charter in 1945 and is generally defined as a nonprofit entity independent of governmental influence, although it may receive government funding.
NGOs operate at various levels—local, regional, national, or international—and are classified by their orientation (e.g., human rights, environmentalism, health, development) and operational scale.
They play a vital role in driving social change, delivering humanitarian aid, promoting civic engagement, and advocating for policy improvements, often working in partnership with governments and other organizations.
Examples include Amnesty International, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, and the World Economic Forum, though the term also encompasses professional associations, grassroots groups, and even some government-backed organizations referred to derogatorily as GONGOs.

MEMO
https://www.congress.gov/119/meeting/house/118696/documents/HHRG-119-II15-20251210-SD002.pdf

KEY MESSAGES
• The Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) was originally intended to combat federal overreach and wrongdoing, primarily by shifting the costs of litigation away from veterans, Social Security recipients, and small businesses.
• Over the years, however, environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have used EAJA to fund their lawfare campaigns with taxpayer dollars.
• These NGOs employ various legal tactics to bog down federal agencies with frivolous lawsuits and force those agencies, and ultimately American taxpayers, to foot the bill for their attorney’s fees.
• Federal land management agencies are spending significant portions of their time and budgets on litigation and decision reversals, rather than managing and protecting our natural resources.
• Continued oversight of EAJA awards to environmental NGOs, paired with legislative reform, is imperative to prevent further waste of taxpayer dollars and empower federal agencies to focus on essential activities rather than defending themselves against litigation abuse.

WITNESSES
Panel I (Outside Experts)
• Ms. Regina Lennox
Senior Litigation Counsel, Safari Club International,
Washington, D.C.
• Mr. Todd Wilkinson
South Dakota Rancher,
DeSmet, SD
• Mr. Daniel Rohlf
Professor of Law, Director at Earthrise Law Center,
Lewis and Clark Law School,
Portland, OR
• Mr. Travis Joseph,
President and CEO, American Forest Resource Council,
Eugene, OR

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