Congress knows the difference between “shall” and “may” as indicated by its use of the word “may” in 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(E)(i), which provides: “The court may assess against the United States reasonable attorney fees…” Case 1:14-cv-00007-RC Document 28 Filed 08/26/16 Page 5 of 38 6 When Congress uses “shall” in one part of a statute, and “may” in another, courts should apply the law as written: “shall” means “shall.” In Kingdomware Technologies v. U.S., 136 S. Ct. 1969, 1977 (2016), the Court considered 38 U.S.C. § 8127, which deals with contracts to businesses owned by veterans. Sub-section 8127(d) provides that a contracting officer “shall award contracts” to businesses owned by veterans, if certain conditions are met.