II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4596 

To prohibit the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the Environmental 

Protection Agency, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Transportation, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, and the 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from considering, in taking any 

action, the social cost of carbon, the social cost of methane, the social 

cost of nitrous oxide, or the social cost of any other greenhouse gas, 

unless compliant with Office of Management and Budget guidance, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 21, 2022 

Mr. LANKFORD (for himself, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. 

BARRASSO, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. COTTON, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. RISCH, Mr. 

CRAMER, Mr. DAINES, Mr. MARSHALL, and Ms. LUMMIS) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To prohibit the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of 

the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of 

the Interior, the Secretary of Transportation, the Chair 

of the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from considering, 

in taking any action, the social cost of carbon, the social 

cost of methane, the social cost of nitrous oxide, or 

the social cost of any other greenhouse gas, unless compliant with Office of Management and Budget guidance, 

and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transparency and 

5 Honesty in Energy Regulations Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) as a tool to justify Federal actions by the 

9 Secretary of Energy, the Administrator, the Sec10 retary of the Interior, the Secretary of Transpor11 tation, the Chair of the Council on Environmental 

12 Quality, and the Chair of the Federal Energy Regu13 latory Commission to address greenhouse gas emis14 sions, including the regulation or prohibition of the 

15 exploration, mining, production, and use of coal and 

16 other fossil fuels as energy sources, the social cost 

17 of greenhouse gases, specifically the social cost of 

18 carbon, the social cost of methane, and the social 

19 cost of nitrous oxide, represents the hypothetical 

20 cost of 1 incremental ton of carbon dioxide, meth21 ane, or nitrous oxide emissions in a given year; 

22 (2) the document of the Office of Management 

23 and Budget entitled ‘‘Circular A–4’’ and dated Sep24 tember 17, 2003— 


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1 (A) guides Federal agencies on the devel2 opment of regulatory impact analysis required 

3 under Executive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 

4 note; relating to regulatory planning and re5 view) and other authorities; and 

6 (B) instructs Federal agencies to include 

7 discount rates of 3 and 7 percent and evaluate 

8 the costs and benefits of the regulatory action 

9 that accrue to citizens and residents of the 

10 United States; 

11 (3) first developed in 2009 by an interagency 

12 working group that included the Department of En13 ergy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the De14 partment of Transportation, and the Council on En15 vironmental Quality, the estimates for the social cost 

16 of carbon and the subsequently developed social cost 

17 of methane and social cost of nitrous oxide fail to 

18 comply with the 3- and 7-percent discount rates pre19 scribed by the document of the Office of Manage20 ment and Budget entitled ‘‘Circular A–4’’ and dated 

21 September 17, 2003; 

22 (4) while the document of the Office of Man23 agement and Budget entitled ‘‘Circular A–4’’ and 

24 dated September 17, 2003, specifies that, in car25 rying out an evaluation of the global effects of a 


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1 rule, regulation, or action, the evaluation shall be re2 ported separately from domestic costs and benefits 

3 of that rule, regulation, or action, the social cost of 

4 carbon, the social cost of methane, and the social 

5 cost of nitrous oxide instead calculates the global 

6 benefits in lieu of, not in addition to, the domestic 

7 costs of a rule, regulation, or action; 

8 (5) the use of the estimates of the social cost 

9 of greenhouse gases, including the estimates for the 

10 social cost of carbon, the social cost of methane, and 

11 the social cost of nitrous oxide, in the rulemakings 

12 and other actions of the Department of Energy, the 

13 Environmental Protection Agency, the Department 

14 of the Interior, the Department of Transportation, 

15 and the Council on Environmental Quality was with16 out— 

17 (A) an adequate opportunity for public no18 tice and comment; and 

19 (B) rigorous scientific peer review; 

20 (6) by Executive order, the interagency working 

21 group described in paragraph (3) was disbanded in 

22 March 2017, and the related estimates were with23 drawn; 

24 (7) the Environmental Protection Agency devel25 oped new estimates in line with the document deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Jul 29, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4596.IS S4596

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1 scribed in paragraph (4) in EPA–452/R–18–006, 

2 dated August 2018, and entitled ‘‘Regulatory Im3 pact Analysis for the Proposed Emissions Guidelines 

4 for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing Elec5 tric Utility Generating Units; Revisions to Emission 

6 Guideline Implementing Regulations; Revisions to 

7 New Source Review Program’’; 

8 (8) Executive Order 13990 (86 Fed. Reg. 7037; 

9 relating to protecting public health and the environ10 ment and restoring science to tackle the climate cri11 sis), issued on January 20, 2021— 

12 (A) reconvened the interagency working 

13 group described in paragraph (3); 

14 (B) directed the head of each Federal 

15 agency to include an interim figure for the so16 cial cost of carbon, the social cost of methane, 

17 and the social cost of nitrous oxide in any con18 sideration of the effect of greenhouse gas emis19 sions in any regulations and other relevant 

20 agency actions; and 

21 (C) directed the reconvened interagency 

22 working group to review and update the meth23 odology and estimates for the social cost of car24 bon, the social cost of methane, and the social 

25 cost of nitrous oxide; 


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1 (9) despite nearly a decade of investigation, the 

2 interagency working group described in paragraph 

3 (3) has lacked transparency and failed to sufficiently 

4 provide Congress and the public with information re5 garding how often the interagency working group 

6 met, the discussions of the interagency working 

7 group, and how the interagency working group ar8 rived at its estimates; 

9 (10)(A) the use of the interim social cost of 

10 greenhouse gas figures was challenged in court and 

11 a preliminary injunction was granted by the United 

12 States District Court for the Western District of 

13 Louisiana on February 11, 2022; and 

14 (B) the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed 

15 the preliminary injunction on March 16, 2022; 

16 (11) the Environmental Protection Agency re17 lied on the interagency working group interim esti18 mate of the social cost of methane, without appro19 priate peer review or opportunity for public notice 

20 and comment, in attempting to justify the costs and 

21 benefits of the proposed rule entitled ‘‘Standards of 

22 Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified 

23 Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing 

24 Sources: Oil and Natural Gas Sector Climate Re25 view’’ (86 Fed. Reg. 63110 (November 15, 2021)); 


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1 (12) prior to the 2017 disbandment of the 

2 interagency working group described in paragraph 

3 (3), the Department of the Interior used the social 

4 cost of methane estimate to justify the costs and 

5 benefits of the final rule entitled ‘‘Waste Prevention, 

6 Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Con7 servation’’ (81 Fed. Reg. 83008 (November 18, 

8 2016)); 

9 (13) court filings note that various agencies 

10 have 38 pending regulatory actions that rely on the 

11 interim social cost of greenhouse gases figures; and 

12 (14) continued use of the social cost of green13 house gases, including the social cost of carbon, the 

14 social cost of methane, and the social cost of nitrous 

15 oxide by the Department of Energy, the Environ16 mental Protection Agency, the Department of the 

17 Interior, the Department of Transportation, the 

18 Council on Environmental Quality, and the Federal 

19 Energy Regulatory Commission ignores sound 

20 science. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis24 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ25 mental Protection Agency. 


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1 (2) SOCIAL COST OF CARBON.—The term ‘‘so2 cial cost of carbon’’ means— 

3 (A) the estimate of the social cost of car4 bon described in— 

5 (i) the document entitled ‘‘Technical 

6 Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon 

7 for Regulatory Impact Analysis Under Ex8 ecutive Order 12866’’, published by the 

9 Interagency Working Group on Social Cost 

10 of Carbon, United States Government, in 

11 February 2010; 

12 (ii) the document entitled ‘‘Technical 

13 Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon, 

14 Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Esti15 mates under Executive Order 13990’’, 

16 published by the Interagency Working 

17 Group on Social Cost of Greenhouse 

18 Gases, United States Government, in Feb19 ruary 2021; 

20 (iii) the document entitled ‘‘Technical 

21 Support Document: Technical Update of 

22 the Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory 

23 Impact Analysis Under Executive Order 

24 12866’’, published by the Interagency 

25 Working Group on Social Cost of Carbon, 


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1 United States Government, in May 2013 

2 and revised in November 2013 and July 

3 2015, and published and revised by the 

4 Interagency Working Group on the Social 

5 Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United States 

6 Government, in August 2016; or 

7 (iv) any successor or substantially re8 lated document; and 

9 (B) any other estimate of the monetized 

10 damages associated with an incremental in11 crease in carbon dioxide emissions in a given 

12 year. 

13 (3) SOCIAL COST OF GREENHOUSE GAS.—The 

14 term ‘‘social cost of greenhouse gas’’ means— 

15 (A) the estimate of the social cost of any 

16 greenhouse gas that is described in any suc17 cessor document to— 

18 (i) the document entitled ‘‘Technical 

19 Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon 

20 for Regulatory Impact Analysis Under Ex21 ecutive Order 12866’’, published by the 

22 Interagency Working Group on Social Cost 

23 of Carbon, United States Government, in 

24 February 2010; 


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1 (ii) the document entitled ‘‘Technical 

2 Support Document: Technical Update of 

3 the Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory 

4 Impact Analysis Under Executive Order 

5 12866’’, published by the Interagency 

6 Working Group on Social Cost of Carbon, 

7 United States Government, in May 2013 

8 and revised in November 2013 and July 

9 2015, and published and revised by the 

10 Interagency Working Group on the Social 

11 Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United States 

12 Government, in August 2016; 

13 (iii) the document entitled ‘‘Adden14 dum to Technical Support Document on 

15 Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Im16 pact Analysis under Executive Order 

17 12866: Application of the Methodology to 

18 Estimate the Social Cost of Methane and 

19 the Social Cost of Nitrous Oxide’’, pub20 lished by the Interagency Working Group 

21 on Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, 

22 United States Government, in August 

23 2016; 

24 (iv) the document entitled ‘‘Technical 

25 Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon, 


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1 Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Esti2 mates under Executive Order 13990’’, 

3 published by the Interagency Working 

4 Group on Social Cost of Greenhouse 

5 Gases, United States Government, in Feb6 ruary 2021; or 

7 (v) any successor or substantially re8 lated document; and 

9 (B) any other estimate of the monetized 

10 damages associated with an incremental in11 crease in greenhouse gas emissions in a given 

12 year. 

13 (4) SOCIAL COST OF METHANE.—The term ‘‘so14 cial cost of methane’’ means— 

15 (A) the estimate of the social cost of meth16 ane described in— 

17 (i) the proposed rule entitled ‘‘Oil and 

18 Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards 

19 for New and Modified Sources’’ (80 Fed. 

20 Reg. 56593 (September 18, 2015)); 

21 (ii) the final rule entitled ‘‘Oil and 

22 Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards 

23 for New, Reconstructed, and Modified 

24 Sources’’ (81 Fed. Reg. 35824 (June 3, 

25 2016)); 


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1 (iii) the regulatory impact analysis en2 titled ‘‘Regulatory Impact Analysis of the 

3 Final Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emis4 sion Standards for New, Reconstructed, 

5 and Modified Sources’’, prepared by the 

6 Environmental Protection Agency, Office 

7 of Air and Radiation, in May 2016 and 

8 identified by docket ID number EPA–HQ– 

9 OAR–2010–0505–7630; 

10 (iv) the document entitled ‘‘Addendum 

11 to Technical Support Document on Social 

12 Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact 

13 Analysis under Executive Order 12866: 

14 Application of the Methodology to Esti15 mate the Social Cost of Methane and the 

16 Social Cost of Nitrous Oxide’’, published 

17 by the Interagency Working Group on So18 cial Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United 

19 States Government, in August 2016; 

20 (v) the document entitled ‘‘Technical 

21 Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon, 

22 Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Esti23 mates under Executive Order 13990’’, 

24 published by the Interagency Working 

25 Group on Social Cost of Greenhouse 


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1 Gases, United States Government, in Feb2 ruary 2021; or 

3 (vi) any successor or substantially re4 lated document; and 

5 (B) any other estimate of the monetized 

6 damages associated with an incremental in7 crease in methane emissions in a given year. 

8 (5) SOCIAL COST OF NITROUS OXIDE.—The 

9 term ‘‘social cost of nitrous oxide’’ means— 

10 (A) the estimate of the social cost of ni11 trous oxide described in— 

12 (i) the document entitled ‘‘Addendum 

13 to Technical Support Document on Social 

14 Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact 

15 Analysis under Executive Order 12866: 

16 Application of the Methodology to Esti17 mate the Social Cost of Methane and the 

18 Social Cost of Nitrous Oxide’’, published 

19 by the Interagency Working Group on So20 cial Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United 

21 States Government, in August 2016; 

22 (ii) the document entitled ‘‘Technical 

23 Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon, 

24 Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Esti25 mates under Executive Order 13990’’, 


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1 published by the Interagency Working 

2 Group on Social Cost of Greenhouse 

3 Gases, United States Government, in Feb4 ruary 2021; or 

5 (iii) any other successor or substan6 tially related document; and 

7 (B) any other estimate of the monetized 

8 damages associated with an incremental in9 crease in nitrous oxide emissions in a given 

10 year. 

11 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON CONSIDERING THE SOCIAL COST 

12 OF GREENHOUSE GAS, INCLUDING THE SO13 CIAL COST OF CARBON, THE SOCIAL COST OF 

14 METHANE, AND THE SOCIAL COST OF NI15 TROUS OXIDE. 

16 The Secretary of Energy, under any authority, the 

17 Administrator, under any authority, the Secretary of the 

18 Interior, under any authority, the Secretary of Transpor19 tation, under any authority, the Chair of the Council on 

20 Environmental Quality, under the National Environ21 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the 

22 Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

23 under any authority, the Secretary of the Treasury, under 

24 any authority, the Secretary of Agriculture, under any au25 thority, the Secretary of Commerce, under any authority, 


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1 and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, under 

2 any authority, may not consider the social cost of carbon, 

3 social cost of methane, social cost of nitrous oxide, or so4 cial cost of greenhouse gas— 

5 (1) as part of any cost-benefit analysis required 

6 under— 

7 (A) any law; 

8 (B) Executive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 

9 note; relating to regulatory planning and re10 view); or 

11 (C) Executive Order 13563 (5 U.S.C. 601 

12 note; relating to improving regulation and regu13 latory review); 

14 (2) in any rulemaking; 

15 (3) in the issuance of any guidance; 

16 (4) in taking any other agency action; or 

17 (5) as a justification for any rulemaking, guid18 ance document, or agency action. 

19 SEC. 5. REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATOR. 

20 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

21 of this Act, the Administrator, in coordination and con22 sultation with the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of 

23 the Interior, the Secretary of Transportation, the Chair 

24 of the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Chair 

25 of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall subVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Jul 29, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4596.IS S4596

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1 mit to the Committees on Environment and Public Works 

2 and Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 

3 Committees on Energy and Commerce and Natural Re4 sources of the House of Representatives a report describ5 ing the number of proposed and final rulemakings, guid6 ance documents, and agency actions that, since January 

7 2009, have used the social cost of carbon, the social cost 

8 of greenhouse gases, the social cost of methane, or the 

9 social cost of nitrous oxide, including the use of the social 

10 cost of carbon, the social cost of greenhouse gases, the 

11 social cost of methane, or the social cost of nitrous oxide 

12 as part of any cost-benefit analysis required under Execu13 tive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; relating to regu14 latory planning and review) or other relevant authority. 

Æ 


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