Defense of the Environment Act of 1997

Summary: Defense of the Environment Act of 1997 - Requires any report of a congressional committee or committee of conference accompanying a public bill or joint resolution that includes any provision that reduces environmental protection to contain:  (1) an identification and description of the provision; (2) an assessment of the extent of such reduction; (3) a description of any actions to avoid such reduction; and (4) any statement received from the Comptroller General, upon request of the committee or a majority of either the minority or majority members of the committee, assessing the reduction. 
Deems a provision to reduce environmental protection if it may: (1) allow increased pollution; (2) adversely affect the environmental quality of public lands or diminish protection of species that may be endangered; (3) increase children's exposure to environmental contaminants and other environmental risks; or (4) have the effect of shielding environmental law violators or limiting judicial review of agency action under authority of any environmental law. 
Provides for consultation and assistance of the Comptroller General at the request of any committee.   Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that each Federal agency:  (1) collects and catalogs available information that would assist in assessing whether any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report provision would reduce environmental protection; (2) facilitates the availability of such information for Congress' use; and (3) makes such information readily available to the Comptroller General for purposes of fulfilling the assessment and consultation duties described above.  Requires such information to be made publicly available. 
Makes out of order in the House of Representatives and the Senate the consideration of any reported bill or joint resolution, or conference report, unless the committee has complied with the identification and assessment provisions of this Act.  Makes any rule waiving these provisions out of order in the House. 
Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives with respect to the consideration and striking of provisions reducing environmental protection within the meaning of this Act.  Provides Senate procedures for the striking of such provisions.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Defense of the Environment Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that provisions that reduce 
protection of the environment have been included in legislation without 
adequate consideration and an opportunity for Members to vote on the 
provisions.
    (b) Purpose.--The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) require Members of Congress to vote in the House of 
        Representatives and the Senate on provisions included in 
        legislation that reduce protection of the environment; and
            (2) require the Office of Management and Budget to ensure 
        that each department or agency makes available to Congress and 
        the public information to assist in assessing whether 
        provisions included in legislation would reduce protection of 
        the environment.

SEC. 3. APPLICABLE PROVISIONS.

    (a) In General.--This Act shall apply to any provision in a bill, 
joint resolution, amendment, or conference report before Congress that 
reduces protection of the environment.
    (b) Provisions Reducing Protection.--A provision shall be 
considered to reduce protection of the environment if the provision 
meets the criteria of one or more of the following paragraphs:
            (1) Defense of clean air and water.--The provision may 
        allow increased pollution of ambient air, indoor air, surface 
        water, ground water, the oceans, or other terrestrial or 
        aquatic resources.
            (2) Defense of national parks and public lands.--The 
        provision may--
                    (A) cause adverse impacts on the environmental 
                quality of national parks or other public lands, 
                including the effect of decreasing the quantity or 
                quality of outdoor educational or recreational 
                opportunities on such lands; or
                    (B) diminish protection of species that may be 
                endangered.
            (3) Defense of children's environmental health.--The 
        provision may increase children's exposure to environmental 
        contaminants and other environmental risks.
    (c) Other Provisions.--A provision shall also be considered to 
reduce protection of the environment if the provision may have the 
effect of shielding any violators of environmental laws from penalties 
or limiting judicial review of agency action under the authority of any 
environmental law.
    (d) Baseline for Effects.--The baseline for determining the effects 
of a provision described in subsection (b) or (c) shall be the 
circumstances that would exist if the provision were not enacted.

SEC. 4. DUTIES OF CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.

    (a) In General.--When a committee of the House of Representatives 
or Senate or a committee of conference reports a bill or joint 
resolution of public character that includes any provision that reduces 
protection of the environment, the report of the committee accompanying 
the bill or joint resolution (or the statement of managers accompanying 
the conference report) shall contain each of the following:
            (1) An identification and description of any provision in 
        the bill or joint resolution or conference report that reduces 
        protection of the environment.
            (2) A qualitative and, if practicable, a quantitative 
        assessment of the extent of the reduction in protection of the 
        environment.
            (3) A description of the actions, if any, taken by the 
        committee to avoid the reduction in protection of the 
        environment.
            (4) Any statement received under section 5.

SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL.

    (a) Statement.--For each bill or joint resolution of a public 
character reported by any committee of the House of Representatives or 
the Senate, and for each report by a committee of conference, the 
Comptroller General of the United States, upon a request of the 
committee or a majority of the members of the minority party or 
majority party of the committee, shall, prior to the filing of the 
report, prepare and submit to the committee a statement assessing the 
extent to which the provisions of the bill, joint resolution, or 
conference report reduce protection of the environment.
    (b) Assistance to Committees and Studies.--At the request of any 
committee of the Senate or the House of Representatives, the 
Comptroller General shall, to the extent practicable, consult with and 
assist such committee in assessing the extent to which the provisions 
of a bill, joint resolution, or conference report reduce the protection 
of the environment.

SEC. 6. DUTIES OF OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT OF BUDGET.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall ensure that each department or agency of the United 
States--
            (1) collects and catalogs available information that would 
        assist in assessing whether any provision in a bill, joint 
        resolution, amendment, or conference report before Congress 
        would reduce protection of the environment;
            (2) coordinates, organizes and facilitates the availability 
        of such information for use by Congress; and
            (3) ensures that such information is readily available to 
        the Comptroller General for purposes of fulfilling duties under 
        section 5 of this Act or for other purposes.
    (b) Public Availability.--The Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget shall ensure that each department or agency of the United 
States makes information collected and cataloged pursuant to subsection 
(a) readily available to the public.

SEC. 7. LEGISLATION SUBJECT TO POINT OF ORDER.

    (a) In General.--It shall not be in order in the House of 
Representatives or the Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution, 
or conference report that is reported by a committee unless the 
committee has complied with section 4.
    (b) Procedure in the House of Representatives.--It shall not be in 
order in the House of Representatives to consider a rule or order that 
waives the application of subsection (a).

SEC. 8. DEBATE ON PROVISIONS REDUCING PROTECTION.

    (a) Amendment of House Rules.--Rule XVI of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(11) Notwithstanding the adoption of any rule or motion to limit 
or close debate it shall always be in order, as question of high 
privilege, to move to strike from any bill, joint resolution, or 
amendment any provision that reduces protection of the environment 
(within the meaning of section 3 of the Defense of the Environment Act 
of 1997). Such motion shall take precedence over a motion for the 
previous question on such bill, joint resolution, or amendment and it 
shall be in order to debate any such motion for 40 minutes, one-half of 
such time shall be given to debate in favor of, and one-half of such 
times in opposition to, such motion.''.
    (b) Vote in Senate.--Notwithstanding the adoption of any rule or 
motion to limit or close debate it shall always be in order, as 
question of high privilege in the Senate, to move to strike from any 
bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report any provision 
that reduces protection of the environment (within the meaning of 
section 3 of the Defense of the Environment Act of 1997). Such motion 
shall take precedence over a motion for the previous question on such 
bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report, and it shall 
be in order to debate any such motion for 40 minutes, one-half of such 
time shall be given to debate in favor of, and one-half of such times 
in opposition to, such motion.
    (c) Conference Reports and Senate Amendments.--
            (1) Conference reports.--Clause (4) of Rule XXVIII of the 
        Rules of the House of Representatives is amended as follows:
                    (A) In subsection (a) after ``if such matter has 
                been offered as an amendment in the House'' by 
                inserting ``or containing any provision that reduces 
                protection of the environment (within the meaning of 
                section 3 of the Defense of the Environment Act of 
                1997)''.
                    (B) In subsections (a), (b), and (c), by striking 
                out ``nongermane matter'' in each place it appears and 
                inserting ``matter or provision''.
            (2) Senate amendments.--Clause (5) of Rule XXVII of the 
        Rules of the House of Representatives is amended as follows:
                    (A) In subsection (a) after ``if such matter had 
                been offered as an amendment in the House'' by 
                inserting ``or that reduces protection of the 
                environment (within the meaning of section 3 of the 
                Defense of the Environment Act of 1997)''.
                    (B) In subsections (a), (b), and (c), by striking 
                out ``nongermane matter'' in each place it appears and 
                inserting ``matter or provision''.
    (d) Exercise of Rulemaking Powers.--The provisions of this section 
and sections 4 and 7 are enacted by Congress--
            (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of 
        Representatives and the Senate, respectively, and as such they 
        shall be considered as part of the rules of such House, 
        respectively, and such rules shall supersede other rules only 
        to the extent that they are inconsistent therewith; and
            (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
        either House to change such rules (so far as relating to such 
        House) at any time, in the same manner, and to the same extent 
        as in the case of any other rule of each House.

SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect on the date of enactment.