Congressional Oversight and Audit of Agency Rulemaking Actions Act

Summary: Requires that an independent audit and assessment of such a rule by the Comptroller General shall consist of: (1) an analysis of the agency's and the public's assessment of the potential benefits and costs of the rule and of alternative approaches that could achieve the agency's objectives in a more cost effective manner; (2) an analysis and assessment of any impact statement or report prepared by the agency as part of the rulemaking, including any assessment of impacts on State and local governments; and (3) a list of all analyses, groups, entities, and sources consulted in developing the analyses and assessments described above.
Grants the Comptroller General discretion to develop procedures for determining the priority and number of requests for review.
Requires each agency, upon request of the Comptroller General, to provide any available or existing records, information, or data upon which the agency relied in developing such a rule. Requires the Comptroller General to transmit an independent audit containing the prescribed assessments and analyses on a final rule, together with a summary of the differences between the proposed and final rule, within 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Authorizes appropriations.
Provides for the pilot project established under this Act to continue for a five-year period if specified appropriations are provided. Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress on such project's effectiveness and on whether it should be authorized permanently.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional Oversight and Audit of 
Agency Rulemaking Actions Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) Federal regulations have had a positive impact in 
        protecting the environment and health and safety of all 
        Americans; however uncontrolled increases in the costs that 
        regulations place on the economy, including costs associated 
        with duplicative, overlapping, and inconsistent regulations, 
        cannot be sustained;
            (2) the legislative branch has an oversight responsibility 
        to see that laws it passes are properly implemented by the 
        executive branch;
            (3) in order for the legislative branch to fulfill its 
        legislative and oversight responsibilities, it must have 
        accurate and reliable information on which to base its 
        decisions; and
            (4) effective implementation of chapter 8 of title 5 of the 
        United States Code (relating to Congressional review of agency 
        rulemaking) is essential to controlling the regulatory burden 
        that the Government places on the economy.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of Act:
            (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given such 
        term under section 551(1) of title 5, the United States Code;
            (2) Comptroller general.--The term ``Comptroller General'' 
        means the Comptroller General of the United States.
            (3) Economically significant.--The term ``economically 
        significant rule'' means any proposed, final, or interim rule--
                    (A) that may have an annual effect on the economy 
                of $100,000,000 or more or adversely affect in a 
                material way the economy, a sector of the economy, 
                productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, 
                public health or safety, or State, local, tribal 
                governments, small businesses, or communities; or
                    (B) for which an agency has prepared an initial or 
                final regulatory flexibility analysis pursuant to 
                section 603 or 604 of title 5 of the United States 
                Code.
            (4) Audit and assessment.--The term ``audit and 
        assessment'' means a review of the agency's underlying 
        assessments and assumptions used in developing a rule.

SEC. 4. PERFORMANCE OF CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW FUNCTIONS BY THE GENERAL 
              ACCOUNTING OFFICE PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--A pilot project shall be established by the 
Comptroller General of the United States under which the Comptroller 
General may review a published economically significant proposed or 
interim rule at the request of a committee of either House of Congress 
with jurisdiction over the subject matter of the rule.
    (b) Independent Audit and Assessment.--The independent audit and 
assessment of an economically significant rule by the Comptroller 
General shall consist of the following:
            (1) Analysis regarding potential benefits.--An analysis of 
        the agency's and the public's assessment of the potential 
        benefits of the rule, including any beneficial effects that 
        cannot be quantified in monetary terms and the identification 
        of the persons or entities likely to receive the benefits. Such 
        analysis may include, upon the request of the Committee, the 
        Comptroller General's development of a separate benefit 
        assessment based on the data available to the agency, including 
        data generated after publication of the rule in the Federal 
        Register.
            (2) Analysis regarding potential costs.--An analysis of the 
        agency's and public's assessment of the potential costs of the 
rule, including any adverse effects that cannot be quantified in 
monetary terms and the identification of the persons or entities likely 
to bear the costs. Such analysis may include, upon the request of the 
Committee, the Comptroller General's development of a separate cost 
assessment based on the data available to the agency, including data 
generated after publication of the rule in the Federal Register.
            (3) Analysis of alternatives.--An analysis of the agency's 
        and the public's alternative approaches that could achieve the 
        objectives of the agency in a more cost effective manner. For 
        each such alternative assessed, the Comptroller General shall 
        state whether current law forecloses the agency from selecting 
        a particular alternative. Such an analysis may include, upon 
        the request of the Committee, the development of separate 
        alternatives by the Comptroller that were not cited by the 
        agency or submitted by the public to the agency.
            (4) Analysis and assessment of impact statement or 
        report.--An analysis and assessment of any impact statement or 
        report prepared by the agency, including those reports and 
        assessments mandated by executive orders or statutes, as part 
        of the rulemaking, including any assessment of impacts on State 
        and local governments.
            (5) List of analyses, groups, entities, and sources 
        consulted.--A list of all analyses, groups, entities, and 
        sources consulted in developing the analyses and assessments 
        set forth in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4).
    (c) Procedures for Priorities of Requests.--The Comptroller General 
shall have discretion to develop procedures for determining the 
priority and number of requests for review under subsection (a) for 
which a report will be submitted under subsection (e).
    (d) Agency Cooperation and Comments.--Upon request of the 
Comptroller General, each agency shall provide any available or 
existing records, information, or data upon which the agency relied in 
developing an economically significant rule. The agency may provide 
records, information, and data not requested by the Comptroller General 
but which the agency determines are relevant to its development of an 
economically significant rule.
    (e) Submission of Report.--
            (1) Interim audit.--The Comptroller General shall submit an 
        interim audit to the Committee requesting the report 30 days 
        after the close of the comment period unless the final 
        regulation must issue less than 120 days from the date of 
        publication of the proposed or interim rule in which case the 
        report shall issue within 10 days after the close of the 
        comment period. The interim audit shall contain the assessments 
        set forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (b) for 
        the proposed rule. The agency shall not be required to consider 
        any alternatives in this report in the development of a final 
        rule to the extent that the agency determines that it cannot 
        consider the alternative under established law.
            (2) Final audit.--The Comptroller General shall prepare and 
        transmit an independent audit containing the assessments and 
        analyses set forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection 
        (b) on the final rule within 30 days after publication in the 
        Federal Register. In addition to the required analyses and 
        assessments, the Comptroller General shall provide a summary of 
        the differences, to the extent such differences exist, between 
        the proposed and final rule. The Comptroller General may 
        incorporate any material in the final report that the 
        Comptroller General utilized in preparing the interim report 
        pursuant to paragraph (1).

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Comptroller General 
to carry out this Act $5,200,000 for the fiscal year 2001.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE AND DURATION OF PILOT PROJECT.

    (a) Effective Date.--This Act shall take effect 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Duration of Pilot Project.--The pilot project established under 
section 4(a) shall continue for a period of 5 years if, in each fiscal 
year or portion thereof included in that period, a specific annual 
appropriation of not less than $5,200,000 or the pro-rated equivalent 
thereof shall have been made for the pilot project.
    (c) Report.--Before the conclusion of the 5-year period referred to 
in subsection (b), the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a 
report reviewing the effectiveness of the pilot project and what, if 
any, changes should be made to the procedures set forth in section 4 
and recommending whether or not Congress should permanently authorize 
the pilot project.