5 USC Section 504

Page 27

TITLE 5—GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES

use the name of a Member of either House of
Congress or of an individual in the service of the
United States in advertising the business.
(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 381.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
Derivation
..................

U.S. Code
5 U.S.C. 101.

Revised Statutes and
Statutes at Large
Apr. 27, 1916, ch. 89, § 1, 39
Stat. 54.

The words ‘‘may not’’ are substituted for ‘‘It shall be
unlawful for’’. The words ‘‘agency of the United
States’’ are substituted for ‘‘any department or office
of the Government’’. The words ‘‘an individual in the
service of the United States’’ are substituted for ‘‘officer of the Government’’ in view of the definitions in
sections 2104 and 2105.
Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined
in the preface to the report.

§ 502. Administrative practice; Reserves and National Guardsmen
Membership in a reserve component of the
armed forces or in the National Guard does not
prevent an individual from practicing his civilian profession or occupation before, or in connection with, an agency of the United States.
(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 381.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
Derivation
..................

U.S. Code
5 U.S.C. 30r(c) (2d
sentence).

Revised Statutes and
Statutes at Large
Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, § 29(c)
(2d sentence), 70A Stat.
632.

Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined
in the preface to the report.

§ 503. Witness fees and allowances
(a) For the purpose of this section, ‘‘agency’’
has the meaning given it by section 5721 of this
title.
(b) A witness is entitled to the fees and allowances allowed by statute for witnesses in the
courts of the United States when—
(1) he is subpenaed under section 304(a) of
this title; or
(2) he is subpenaed to and appears at a hearing before an agency authorized by law to hold
hearings and subpena witnesses to attend the
hearings.
(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 381.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
Derivation
..................
..................

U.S. Code
5 U.S.C. 95.
5 U.S.C. 95a.

Revised Statutes and
Statutes at Large
R.S. § 185.
Aug. 2, 1946, ch. 744, § 10, 60
Stat. 809.

Former sections 95 and 95a are combined and restated
for clarity and brevity. The words ‘‘or expenses in the
case of Government officers and employees’’ are omitted as covered by section 1823 of title 28. The word
‘‘agency’’ is substituted for ‘‘department’’ and defined
to conform to the definition of ‘‘department’’ in section
18 of the Act of Aug. 2, 1946, ch. 744, 60 Stat. 811.
This section was part of title IV of the Revised Statutes. The Act of July 26, 1947, ch. 343, § 201(d), as added

§ 504

Aug. 10, 1949, ch. 412, § 4, 63 Stat. 579 (former 5 U.S.C.
171–1), which provides ‘‘Except to the extent inconsistent with the provisions of this Act [National Security
Act of 1947], the provisions of title IV of the Revised
Statutes as now or hereafter amended shall be applicable to the Department of Defense’’ is omitted from this
title but is not repealed.
Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined
in the preface to the report.

§ 504. Costs and fees of parties
(a)(1) An agency that conducts an adversary
adjudication shall award, to a prevailing party
other than the United States, fees and other expenses incurred by that party in connection
with that proceeding, unless the adjudicative officer of the agency finds that the position of the
agency was substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust.
Whether or not the position of the agency was
substantially justified shall be determined on
the basis of the administrative record, as a
whole, which is made in the adversary adjudication for which fees and other expenses are
sought.
(2) A party seeking an award of fees and other
expenses shall, within thirty days of a final disposition in the adversary adjudication, submit
to the agency an application which shows that
the party is a prevailing party and is eligible to
receive an award under this section, and the
amount sought, including an itemized statement
from any attorney, agent, or expert witness representing or appearing in behalf of the party
stating the actual time expended and the rate at
which fees and other expenses were computed.
The party shall also allege that the position of
the agency was not substantially justified. When
the United States appeals the underlying merits
of an adversary adjudication, no decision on an
application for fees and other expenses in connection with that adversary adjudication shall
be made under this section until a final and unreviewable decision is rendered by the court on
the appeal or until the underlying merits of the
case have been finally determined pursuant to
the appeal.
(3) The adjudicative officer of the agency may
reduce the amount to be awarded, or deny an
award, to the extent that the party during the
course of the proceedings engaged in conduct
which unduly and unreasonably protracted the
final resolution of the matter in controversy.
The decision of the adjudicative officer of the
agency under this section shall be made a part
of the record containing the final decision of the
agency and shall include written findings and
conclusions and the reason or basis therefor.
The decision of the agency on the application
for fees and other expenses shall be the final administrative decision under this section.
(4) If, in an adversary adjudication arising
from an agency action to enforce a party’s compliance with a statutory or regulatory requirement, the demand by the agency is substantially
in excess of the decision of the adjudicative officer and is unreasonable when compared with
such decision, under the facts and circumstances
of the case, the adjudicative officer shall award
to the party the fees and other expenses related
to defending against the excessive demand, un-

§ 504

TITLE 5—GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES

less the party has committed a willful violation
of law or otherwise acted in bad faith, or special
circumstances make an award unjust. Fees and
expenses awarded under this paragraph shall be
paid only as a consequence of appropriations
provided in advance.
(b)(1) For the purposes of this section—
(A) ‘‘fees and other expenses’’ includes the
reasonable expenses of expert witnesses, the
reasonable cost of any study, analysis, engineering report, test, or project which is found
by the agency to be necessary for the preparation of the party’s case, and reasonable attorney or agent fees (The amount of fees awarded
under this section shall be based upon prevailing market rates for the kind and quality of
the services furnished, except that (i) no expert witness shall be compensated at a rate in
excess of the highest rate of compensation for
expert witnesses paid by the agency involved,
and (ii) attorney or agent fees shall not be
awarded in excess of $125 per hour unless the
agency determines by regulation that an increase in the cost of living or a special factor,
such as the limited availability of qualified attorneys or agents for the proceedings involved,
justifies a higher fee.);
(B) ‘‘party’’ means a party, as defined in section 551(3) of this title, who is (i) an individual
whose net worth did not exceed $2,000,000 at
the time the adversary adjudication was initiated, or (ii) any owner of an unincorporated
business, or any partnership, corporation, association, unit of local government, or organization, the net worth of which did not exceed
$7,000,000 at the time the adversary adjudication was initiated, and which had not more
than 500 employees at the time the adversary
adjudication was initiated; except that an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.
501(c)(3)) exempt from taxation under section
501(a) of such Code, or a cooperative association as defined in section 15(a) of the Agricultural Marketing Act (12 U.S.C. 1141j(a)), may
be a party regardless of the net worth of such
organization or cooperative association or for
purposes of subsection (a)(4), a small entity as
defined in section 601;
(C) ‘‘adversary adjudication’’ means (i) an
adjudication under section 554 of this title in
which the position of the United States is represented by counsel or otherwise, but excludes
an adjudication for the purpose of establishing
or fixing a rate or for the purpose of granting
or renewing a license, (ii) any appeal of a decision made pursuant to section 7103 of title 41
before an agency board of contract appeals as
provided in section 7105 of title 41, (iii) any
hearing conducted under chapter 38 of title 31,
and (iv) the Religious Freedom Restoration
Act of 1993;
(D) ‘‘adjudicative officer’’ means the deciding official, without regard to whether the official is designated as an administrative law
judge, a hearing officer or examiner, or otherwise, who presided at the adversary adjudication;
(E) ‘‘position of the agency’’ means, in addition to the position taken by the agency in the
adversary adjudication, the action or failure

Page 28

to act by the agency upon which the adversary
adjudication is based; except that fees and
other expenses may not be awarded to a party
for any portion of the adversary adjudication
in which the party has unreasonably protracted the proceedings; and
(F) ‘‘demand’’ means the express demand of
the agency which led to the adversary adjudication, but does not include a recitation by
the agency of the maximum statutory penalty
(i) in the administrative complaint, or (ii)
elsewhere when accompanied by an express demand for a lesser amount.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph
(1), the definitions provided in section 551 of this
title apply to this section.
(c)(1) After consultation with the Chairman of
the Administrative Conference of the United
States, each agency shall by rule establish uniform procedures for the submission and consideration of applications for an award of fees and
other expenses. If a court reviews the underlying
decision of the adversary adjudication, an award
for fees and other expenses may be made only
pursuant to section 2412(d)(3) of title 28, United
States Code.
(2) If a party other than the United States is
dissatisfied with a determination of fees and
other expenses made under subsection (a), that
party may, within 30 days after the determination is made, appeal the determination to the
court of the United States having jurisdiction to
review the merits of the underlying decision of
the agency adversary adjudication. The court’s
determination on any appeal heard under this
paragraph shall be based solely on the factual
record made before the agency. The court may
modify the determination of fees and other expenses only if the court finds that the failure to
make an award of fees and other expenses, or the
calculation of the amount of the award, was unsupported by substantial evidence.
(d) Fees and other expenses awarded under this
subsection shall be paid by any agency over
which the party prevails from any funds made
available to the agency by appropriation or
otherwise.
(e) The Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States, after consultation
with the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration, shall report annually to the Congress on the amount of fees
and other expenses awarded during the preceding fiscal year pursuant to this section. The report shall describe the number, nature, and
amount of the awards, the claims involved in
the controversy, and any other relevant information which may aid the Congress in evaluating the scope and impact of such awards. Each
agency shall provide the Chairman with such information as is necessary for the Chairman to
comply with the requirements of this subsection.
(f) No award may be made under this section
for costs, fees, or other expenses which may be
awarded under section 7430 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(Added Pub. L. 96–481, title II, § 203(a)(1), (c), Oct.
21, 1980, 94 Stat. 2325, 2327; revived and amended
Pub. L. 99–80, §§ 1, 6, Aug. 5, 1985, 99 Stat. 183, 186;

Page 29

TITLE 5—GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES

Pub. L. 99–509, title VI, § 6103(c), Oct. 21, 1986, 100
Stat. 1948; Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100
Stat. 2095; Pub. L. 100–647, title VI, § 6239(b), Nov.
10, 1988, 102 Stat. 3746; Pub. L. 103–141, § 4(b), Nov.
16, 1993, 107 Stat. 1489; Pub. L. 104–121, title II,
§ 231, Mar. 29, 1996, 110 Stat. 862; Pub. L. 111–350,
§ 5(a)(1), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3841.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, referred to in subsec. (b)(1)(C)(iv), is Pub. L. 103–141, Nov.
16, 1993, 107 Stat. 1488, which is classified principally to
chapter 21B (§ 2000bb et seq.) of Title 42, The Public
Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this
Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2000bb of Title 42 and Tables.
Section 7430 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, referred to in subsec. (f), is classified to section 7430 of
Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.
AMENDMENTS
2011—Subsec. (b)(1)(C)(ii). Pub. L. 111–350 substituted
‘‘section 7103 of title 41’’ for ‘‘section 6 of the Contract
Disputes Act of 1978 (41 U.S.C. 605)’’ and ‘‘section 7105 of
title 41’’ for ‘‘section 8 of that Act (41 U.S.C. 607)’’.
1996—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 104–121, § 231(a), added
par. (4).
Subsec. (b)(1)(A)(ii). Pub. L. 104–121, § 231(b)(1), substituted ‘‘$125’’ for ‘‘$75’’.
Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 104–121, § 231(b)(2), inserted
before semicolon at end ‘‘or for purposes of subsection
(a)(4), a small entity as defined in section 601’’.
Subsec. (b)(1)(F). Pub. L. 104–121, § 231(b)(3)–(5), added
subpar. (F).
1993—Subsec. (b)(1)(C). Pub. L. 103–141 added cl. (iv).
1988—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 100–647 added subsec. (f).
1986—Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 99–514 substituted ‘‘Internal Revenue Code of 1986’’ for ‘‘Internal Revenue
Code of 1954’’.
Subsec. (b)(1)(C)(iii). Pub. L. 99–509 added cl. (iii).
1985—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 99–80, § 1(a)(1), (2), struck
out ‘‘as a party to the proceeding’’ after ‘‘the position
of the agency’’, and inserted ‘‘Whether or not the position of the agency was substantially justified shall be
determined on the basis of the administrative record,
as a whole, which is made in the adversary adjudication
for which fees and other expenses are sought.’’
Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 99–80, § 1(b), inserted ‘‘When the
United States appeals the underlying merits of an adversary adjudication, no decision on an application for
fees and other expenses in connection with that adversary adjudication shall be made under this section
until a final and unreviewable decision is rendered by
the court on the appeal or until the underlying merits
of the case have been finally determined pursuant to
the appeal.’’
Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 99–80, § 1(a)(3), inserted ‘‘The
decision of the agency on the application for fees and
other expenses shall be the final administrative decision under this section.’’
Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 99–80, § 1(c)(1), amended subpar. (B) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (B)
read as follows: ‘‘ ‘party’ means a party, as defined in
section 551(3) of this title, which is an individual, partnership, corporation, association, or public or private
organization other than an agency, but excludes (i) any
individual whose net worth exceeded $1,000,000 at the
time the adversary adjudication was initiated, and any
sole owner of an unincorporated business, or any partnership, corporation, association, or organization
whose net worth exceeded $5,000,000 at the time the adversary adjudication was initiated, except that an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)) exempt from
taxation under section 501(a) of the Code and a cooperative association as defined in section 15(a) of the Agricultural Marketing Act (12 U.S.C. 1141j(a)), may be a
party regardless of the net worth of such organization

§ 504

or cooperative association, and (ii) any sole owner of an
unincorporated business, or any partnership, corporation, association, or organization, having more than 500
employees at the time the adversary adjudication was
initiated;’’.
Subsec. (b)(1)(C). Pub. L. 99–80, § 1(c)(2), designated existing provisions of subpar. (C) as cl. (i) thereof by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ before ‘‘an adjudication under’’, added cl.
(ii), and struck out ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the
end.
Subsec. (b)(1)(D), (E). Pub. L. 99–80, § 1(c)(3), substituted ‘‘; and’’ for the period at end of subpar. (D),
and added subpar. (E).
Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 99–80, § 1(d), amended par. (2)
generally. Prior to amendment, par. (2) read as follows:
‘‘A party dissatisfied with the fee determination made
under subsection (a) may petition for leave to appeal to
the court of the United States having jurisdiction to
review the merits of the underlying decision of the
agency adversary adjudication. If the court denies the
petition for leave to appeal, no appeal may be taken
from the denial. If the court grants the petition, it may
modify the determination only if it finds that the failure to make an award, or the calculation of the amount
of the award, was an abuse of discretion.’’
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 99–80, § 1(e), amended subsec. (d)
generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (d) read as follows:
‘‘(1) Fees and other expenses awarded under this section may be paid by any agency over which the party
prevails from any funds made available to the agency,
by appropriation or otherwise, for such purpose. If not
paid by any agency, the fees and other expenses shall
be paid in the same manner as the payment of final
judgments is made pursuant to section 2414 of title 28,
United States Code.
‘‘(2) There is authorized to be appropriated to each
agency for each of the fiscal years 1982, 1983, and 1984,
such sums as may be necessary to pay fees and other
expenses awarded under this section in such fiscal
years.’’
1980—Pub. L. 96–481, § 203(c), which provided for the
repeal of this section effective Oct. 1, 1984, was itself repealed and this section was revived by section 6 of Pub.
L. 99–80, set out as a note below.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT
Pub. L. 104–121, title II, § 233, Mar. 29, 1996, 110 Stat.
864, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by sections
331 and 332 [probably means sections 231 and 232,
amending this section and section 2412 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure] shall apply to civil actions and adversary adjudications commenced on or
after the date of the enactment of this subtitle [Mar.
29, 1996].’’
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1988 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 100–647 applicable to proceedings commencing after Nov. 10, 1988, see section 6239(d)
of Pub. L. 100–647, set out as a note under section 7430
of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1986 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 99–509 effective Oct. 21, 1986,
and applicable to any claim or statement made, presented or submitted on or after such date, see section
6104 of Pub. L. 99–509, set out as an Effective Date note
under section 3801 of Title 31, Money and Finance.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1985 AMENDMENT
Pub. L. 99–80, § 7, Aug. 5, 1985, 99 Stat. 186, provided
that:
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in
this section, the amendments made by this Act [reviving and amending this section and section 2412(d) of
Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, and amending and repealing provisions set out as notes under
those sections] shall apply to cases pending on or commenced on or after the date of the enactment of this
Act [Aug. 5, 1985].

§ 551

TITLE 5—GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES

‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY OF AMENDMENTS TO CERTAIN PRIOR
CASES.—The amendments made by this Act shall apply
to any case commenced on or after October 1, 1984, and
finally disposed of before the date of the enactment of
this Act [Aug. 5, 1985], except that in any such case, the
30-day period referred to in section 504(a)(2) of title 5,
United States Code, or section 2412(d)(1)(B) of title 28,
United States Code, as the case may be, shall be
deemed to commence on the date of the enactment of
this Act.
‘‘(c) APPLICABILITY OF AMENDMENTS TO PRIOR BOARD
OF CONTRACTS APPEALS CASES.—Section 504(b)(1)(C)(ii)
of title 5, United States Code, as added by section
1(c)(2) of this Act, and section 2412(d)(2)(E) of title 28,
United States Code, as added by section 2(c)(2) of this
Act, shall apply to any adversary adjudication pending
on or commenced on or after October 1, 1981, in which
applications for fees and other expenses were timely
filed and were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.’’

Page 30

REVIVAL OF PREVIOUSLY REPEALED PROVISIONS
Pub. L. 99–80, § 6, Aug. 5, 1985, 99 Stat. 186, provided
that:
‘‘(a) REVIVAL OF CERTAIN EXPIRED PROVISIONS.—Section 504 of title 5, United States Code, and the item relating to that section in the table of sections of chapter
5 of title 5, United States Code, and subsection (d) of
section 2412 of title 28, United States Code, shall be effective on or after the date of the enactment of this Act
[Aug. 5, 1985] as if they had not been repealed by sections 203(c) and 204(c) of the Equal Access to Justice
Act [Pub. L. 96–481].
‘‘(b) REPEALS.—
‘‘(1) Section 203(c) of the Equal Access to Justice
Act [which repealed this section] is hereby repealed.
‘‘(2) Section 204(c) of the Equal Access to Justice
Act [which repealed section 2412(d) of title 28] is hereby repealed.’’

EFFECTIVE DATE

CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND PURPOSES

Pub. L. 96–481, title II, § 208, Oct. 21, 1980, 94 Stat. 2330,
as amended by Pub. L. 99–80, § 5, Aug. 5, 1985, 99 Stat.
186, provided that: ‘‘This title and the amendments
made by this title [see Short Title note below] shall
take effect of [on] October 1, 1981, and shall apply to
any adversary adjudication, as defined in section
504(b)(1)(C) of title 5, United States Code, and any civil
action or adversary adjudication described in section
2412 of title 28, United States Code, which is pending
on, or commenced on or after, such date. Awards may
be made for fees and other expenses incurred before October 1, 1981, in any such adversary adjudication or
civil action.’’
Pub. L. 96–481, title II, § 203(c), Oct. 21, 1980, 94 Stat.
2327, which provided that effective Oct. 1, 1984, this section is repealed, except that the provisions of this section shall continue to apply through final disposition of
any adversary adjudication initiated before the date of
repeal, was itself repealed by Pub. L. 99–80, § 6(b)(1),
Aug. 5, 1985, 99 Stat. 186.

Pub. L. 96–481, title II, § 202, Oct. 21, 1980, 94 Stat. 2325,
provided that:
‘‘(a) The Congress finds that certain individuals, partnerships, corporations, and labor and other organizations may be deterred from seeking review of, or defending against, unreasonable governmental action because of the expense involved in securing the vindication of their rights in civil actions and in administrative proceedings.
‘‘(b) The Congress further finds that because of the
greater resources and expertise of the United States
the standard for an award of fees against the United
States should be different from the standard governing
an award against a private litigant, in certain situations.
‘‘(c) It is the purpose of this title [see Short Title
note above]—
‘‘(1) to diminish the deterrent effect of seeking review of, or defending against, governmental action by
providing in specified situations an award of attorney
fees, expert witness fees, and other costs against the
United States; and
‘‘(2) to insure the applicability in actions by or
against the United States of the common law and
statutory exceptions to the ‘American rule’ respecting the award of attorney fees.’’

SHORT TITLE
Pub. L. 96–481, title II, § 201, Oct. 21, 1980, 94 Stat. 2325,
provided that: ‘‘This title [enacting this section,
amending section 634 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade,
section 2412 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, Rule 37 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
set out in Title 28 Appendix, and section 1988 of Title
42, The Public Health and Welfare, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section
2412 of Title 28] may be cited as the ‘Equal Access to
Justice Act’.’’
TERMINATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
For termination, effective May 15, 2000, of provisions
in subsec. (e) of this section relating to annual report
to Congress on the amount of fees and other expenses,
see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out
as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and page 153 of House Document No. 103–7.
TERMINATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE OF
UNITED STATES
For termination of Administrative Conference of
United States, see provision of title IV of Pub. L.
104–52, set out as a note preceding section 591 of this
title.
PROHIBITION ON USE OF ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS TO PAY INTERVENING PARTIES
IN REGULATORY OR ADJUDICATORY PROCEEDINGS
Pub. L. 102–377, title V, § 502, Oct. 2, 1992, 106 Stat.
1342, provided that: ‘‘None of the funds in this Act or
subsequent Energy and Water Development Appropriations Acts shall be used to pay the expenses of, or
otherwise compensate, parties intervening in regulatory or adjudicatory proceedings funded in such
Acts.’’

LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS
Pub. L. 96–481, title II, § 207, Oct. 21, 1980, 94 Stat. 2330,
which provided that the payment of judgments, fees
and other expenses in the same manner as the payment
of final judgments as provided in this Act [probably
should be ‘‘this title’’, see Short Title note above]
would be effective only to the extent and in such
amounts as are provided in advance in appropriation
Acts, was repealed by Pub. L. 99–80, § 4, Aug. 5, 1985, 99
Stat. 186.

SUBCHAPTER II—ADMINISTRATIVE
PROCEDURE
SHORT TITLE
The provisions of this subchapter and chapter 7 of
this title were originally enacted by act June 11, 1946,
ch. 324, 60 Stat. 237, popularly known as the ‘‘Administrative Procedure Act’’. That Act was repealed as part
of the general revision of this title by Pub. L. 89–554
and its provisions incorporated into this subchapter
and chapter 7 hereof.

§ 551. Definitions
For the purpose of this subchapter—
(1) ‘‘agency’’ means each authority of the
Government of the United States, whether or
not it is within or subject to review by another agency, but does not include—
(A) the Congress;