12/10/2025 at 10:15AM
On Wednesday, December 10, 2025, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold an oversight hearing titled “Abuse of the Equal Access to Justice Act by Environmental NGOs.”
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 allows litigants who win cases to protect endangered species to collect litigation costs (Section 11(g)(4)).
The Equal Access to Justice Act of 1980 authorizes attorney fees to individuals and businesses that win cases against the U.S. Government, but eligibility requirements apply to individuals ($2 million net worth) and businesses ($7 million net worth). On the other hand, there are no requirements applied to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Right-wing anti-environmental organizations like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation advocate for limiting the practical application of the Endangered Species Act by limiting these awards to environmental organizations.
Legislation has been introduced, such as the Endangered Species Transparency and Reasonableness Act of 2025 (H.R. 180), to impose such limits.