Should there be a centralized and publicly searchable database of government lawsuit settlements?
Context
More than $4.3 billion in taxpayer money was used to settle lawsuits against the federal government or its employees in fiscal year 2016, through a little-known Treasury Department account known as the Judgment Fund. However, that fund is only tapped by government agencies if the agency in question does not have the requisite funds to pay out a settlement themselves. So while the Judgment Fund's payments are publicly searchable online, many or even most federal government settlements are not. Government-funded settlement agreements have received far more attention in the past two years, as the Me Too movement shined a spotlight on dozens of sexual harassment settlements involving federal workers.
What the bill does
The Settlement Agreement Information Database Act would create a single website where all federal government settlements would be posted publicly and searchable. In cases where a settlement is confidential, the bill would mandate the government also issue a public a statement explaining the nondisclosure. It was introduced on February 6 as bill number H.R. 995 by Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL6).
What supporters say
Supporters argue the bill would increase government openness in a centralized location. "Currently, there is no uniform standard for record keeping across federal agencies," Rep. Palmer said in a press release. "Most of the public's access to federal settlement agreement information is primarily issued by press release. "This lack of transparency frequently leaves the public and elected officials in the dark about costs and outcomes," Rep. Palmer continued. "The SAID Act would provide overdue transparency and accountability standards to federal settlement agreements."
What opponents say
Opponents counter that the bill -- introduced by a Republican and with only Republican cosponsors -- may be primarily a partisan response. President Obama had suggested using the Judgement Fund to compensate health insurers for certain Obamacare payments, after congressional Republicans tried to stop those payments from coming from the Department of Health and Human Services. That being said, the bill passed the House unanimously. (See below.)
Odds of passage
The House passed it unanimously by a 418-0 vote on February 13. It now goes to the Senate. A previous version passed the House in November 2018 by a voice vote, a procedure usually used for uncontroversial legislation meaning no record of individual votes were cast. However, it never received a vote in the Senate.
