I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 998 

To provide for the establishment of a process for the review of rules and 

sets of rules, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 9, 2017 

Mr. SMITH of Missouri (for himself and Mr. GOODLATTE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of a process for the review 

of rules and sets of rules, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Searching for and Cut5 ting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome Act’’ 

6 or as the ‘‘SCRUB Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 


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TITLE I—RETROSPECTIVE REGULATORY REVIEW COMMISSION 

Sec. 101. In general. 

TITLE II—REGULATORY CUT-GO 

Sec. 201. Cut-go procedures. 

Sec. 202. Applicability. 

Sec. 203. OIRA certification of cost calculations. 

TITLE III—RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW OF NEW RULES 

Sec. 301. Plan for future review. 

TITLE IV—JUDICIAL REVIEW 

Sec. 401. Judicial review. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Definitions. 

Sec. 502. Effective date. 

1 TITLE I—RETROSPECTIVE REGU2 LATORY REVIEW COMMIS3 SION 

4 SEC. 101. IN GENERAL. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com6 mission, to be known as the ‘‘Retrospective Regulatory Re7 view Commission’’, that shall review rules and sets of rules 

8 in accordance with specified criteria to determine if a rule 

9 or set of rules should be repealed to eliminate or reduce 

10 the costs of regulation to the economy. The Commission 

11 shall terminate on the date that is 5 years and 180 days 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act or 5 years after 

13 the date by which all Commission members’ terms have 

14 commenced, whichever is later. 

15 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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1 (1) NUMBER.—The Commission shall be com2 posed of 9 members who shall be appointed by the 

3 President and confirmed by the Senate. Each mem4 ber shall be appointed not later than 180 days after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act. 

6 (2) TERM.—The term of each member shall 

7 commence upon the member’s confirmation by the 

8 Senate and shall extend to the date that is 5 years 

9 and 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act 

10 or that is 5 years after the date by which all mem11 bers have been confirmed by the Senate, whichever 

12 is later. 

13 (3) APPOINTMENT.—The members of the Com14 mission shall be appointed as follows: 

15 (A) CHAIR.—The President shall appoint 

16 as the Chair of the Commission an individual 

17 with expertise and experience in rulemaking, 

18 such as past Administrators of the Office of In19 formation and Regulatory Affairs, past chair20 men of the Administrative Conference of the 

21 United States, and other individuals with simi22 lar expertise and experience in rulemaking af23 fairs and the administration of regulatory re24 views. 


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1 (B) CANDIDATE LIST OF MEMBERS.—The 

2 Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 

3 Minority Leader of the House of Representa4 tives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, and 

5 the Minority Leader of the Senate shall each 

6 present to the President a list of candidates to 

7 be members of the Commission. Such can8 didates shall be individuals learned in rule9 making affairs and, preferably, administration 

10 of regulatory reviews. The President shall ap11 point 2 members of the Commission from each 

12 list provided under this subparagraph, subject 

13 to the provisions of subparagraph (C). 

14 (C) RESUBMISSION OF CANDIDATE.—The 

15 President may request from the presenter of 

16 the list under subparagraph (B) a new list of 

17 one or more candidates if the President— 

18 (i) determines that any candidate on 

19 the list presented pursuant to subpara20 graph (B) does not meet the qualifications 

21 specified in such subparagraph to be a 

22 member of the Commission; and 

23 (ii) certifies that determination to the 

24 congressional officials specified in subpara25 graph (B). 


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1 (c) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES OF THE COMMIS2 SION.— 

3 (1) MEETINGS.—The Commission may meet 

4 when, where, and as often as the Commission deter5 mines appropriate, except that the Commission shall 

6 hold public meetings not less than twice each year. 

7 All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the 

8 public. 

9 (2) HEARINGS.—In addition to meetings held 

10 under paragraph (1), the Commission may hold 

11 hearings to consider issues of fact or law relevant to 

12 the Commission’s work. Any hearing held by the 

13 Commission shall be open to the public. 

14 (3) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Commis15 sion may secure directly from any agency informa16 tion and documents necessary to enable the Commis17 sion to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Chair 

18 of the Commission, the head of that agency shall 

19 furnish that information or document to the Com20 mission as soon as possible, but not later than two 

21 weeks after the date on which the request was made. 

22 (4) SUBPOENAS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

24 issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and 

25 testimony of witnesses and the production of 


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1 any evidence relating to the duties of the Com2 mission. The attendance of witnesses and the 

3 production of evidence may be required from 

4 any place within the United States at any des5 ignated place of hearing within the United 

6 States. 

7 (B) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a 

8 person refuses to obey a subpoena issued under 

9 subparagraph (A), the Commission may apply 

10 to a United States district court for an order 

11 requiring that person to appear before the Com12 mission to give testimony, produce evidence, or 

13 both, relating to the matter under investigation. 

14 The application may be made within the judicial 

15 district where the hearing is conducted or where 

16 that person is found, resides, or transacts busi17 ness. Any failure to obey the order of the court 

18 may be punished by the court as civil contempt. 

19 (C) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The sub20 poenas of the Commission shall be served in the 

21 manner provided for subpoenas issued by a 

22 United States district court under the Federal 

23 Rules of Civil Procedure for the United States 

24 district courts. 


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1 (D) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of 

2 any court to which application is made under 

3 subparagraph (B) may be served in the judicial 

4 district in which the person required to be 

5 served resides or may be found. 

6 (d) PAY AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 

7 (1) PAY.— 

8 (A) MEMBERS.—Each member, other than 

9 the Chair of the Commission, shall be paid at 

10 a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the min11 imum annual rate of basic pay payable for level 

12 IV of the Executive Schedule under section 

13 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each 

14 day (including travel time) during which the 

15 member is engaged in the actual performance of 

16 duties vested in the Commission. 

17 (B) CHAIR.—The Chair shall be paid for 

18 each day referred to in subparagraph (A) at a 

19 rate equal to the daily equivalent of the min20 imum annual rate of basic pay payable for level 

21 III of the Executive Schedule under section 

22 5314 of title 5, United States Code. 

23 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members shall receive 

24 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:43 Feb 15, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H998.IH H998

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1 ence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of 

2 title 5, United States Code. 

3 (e) DIRECTOR OF STAFF.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall ap5 point a Director. 

6 (2) PAY.—The Director shall be paid at the 

7 rate of basic pay payable for level V of the Executive 

8 Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United 

9 States Code. 

10 (f) STAFF.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

12 the Director, with the approval of the Commission, 

13 may appoint, fix the pay of, and terminate addi14 tional personnel. 

15 (2) LIMITATIONS ON APPOINTMENT.—The Di16 rector may make such appointments without regard 

17 to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov18 erning appointments in the competitive service, and 

19 any personnel so appointed may be paid without re20 gard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter 

21 III of chapter 53 of that title relating to classifica22 tion and General Schedule pay rates, except that an 

23 individual so appointed may not receive pay in ex24 cess of the annual rate of basic pay payable for GS– 

25 15 of the General Schedule. 


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1 (3) AGENCY ASSISTANCE.—Following consulta2 tion with and upon request of the Chair of the Com3 mission, the head of any agency may detail any of 

4 the personnel of that agency to the Commission to 

5 assist the Commission in carrying out the duties of 

6 the Commission under this Act. 

7 (4) GAO AND OIRA ASSISTANCE.—The Comp8 troller General of the United States and the Admin9 istrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory 

10 Affairs shall provide assistance, including the detail11 ing of employees, to the Commission in accordance 

12 with an agreement entered into with the Commis13 sion. 

14 (5) ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER PARTIES.—Con15 gress, the States, municipalities, federally recognized 

16 Indian tribes, and local governments may provide as17 sistance, including the detailing of employees, to the 

18 Commission in accordance with an agreement en19 tered into with the Commission. 

20 (g) OTHER AUTHORITY.— 

21 (1) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Com22 mission may procure by contract, to the extent funds 

23 are available, the temporary or intermittent services 

24 of experts or consultants pursuant to section 3109 

25 of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 (2) PROPERTY.—The Commission may lease 

2 space and acquire personal property to the extent 

3 funds are available. 

4 (h) DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con6 duct a review of the Code of Federal Regulations to 

7 identify rules and sets of rules that collectively im8 plement a regulatory program that should be re9 pealed to lower the cost of regulation to the econ10 omy. The Commission shall give priority in the re11 view to rules or sets of rules that are major rules 

12 or include major rules, have been in effect more than 

13 15 years, impose paperwork burdens or unfunded 

14 mandates that could be reduced substantially with15 out significantly diminishing regulatory effectiveness, 

16 impose disproportionately high costs on entities that 

17 qualify as small entities within the meaning of sec18 tion 601(6) of title 5, United States Code, or could 

19 be strengthened in their effectiveness while reducing 

20 regulatory costs. The Commission shall have as a 

21 goal of the Commission to achieve a reduction of at 

22 least 15 percent in the cumulative costs of Federal 

23 regulation with a minimal reduction in the overall ef24 fectiveness of such regulation. 


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1 (2) NATURE OF REVIEW.—To identify which 

2 rules and sets of rules should be repealed to lower 

3 the cost of regulation to the economy, the Commis4 sion shall apply the following criteria: 

5 (A) Whether the original purpose of the 

6 rule or set of rules was achieved, and the rule 

7 or set of rules could be repealed without signifi8 cant recurrence of adverse effects or conduct 

9 that the rule or set of rules was intended to 

10 prevent or reduce. 

11 (B) Whether the implementation, compli12 ance, administration, enforcement, imposition of 

13 unfunded mandates, or other costs of the rule 

14 or set of rules to the economy are not justified 

15 by the benefits to society within the United 

16 States produced by the expenditure of those 

17 costs. 

18 (C) Whether the rule or set of rules has 

19 been rendered unnecessary or obsolete, taking 

20 into consideration the length of time since the 

21 rule was made and the degree to which tech22 nology, economic conditions, market practices, 

23 or other relevant factors have changed in the 

24 subject area affected by the rule or set of rules. 


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1 (D) Whether the rule or set of rules is in2 effective at achieving the purposes of the rule or 

3 set of rules. 

4 (E) Whether the rule or set of rules over5 laps, duplicates, or conflicts with other Federal 

6 rules, and to the extent feasible, with State and 

7 local governmental rules. 

8 (F) Whether the rule or set of rules has 

9 excessive compliance costs, imposes unfunded 

10 mandates, or is otherwise excessively burden11 some, as compared to alternatives that— 

12 (i) specify performance objectives 

13 rather than conduct or manners of compli14 ance; 

15 (ii) establish economic incentives to 

16 encourage desired behavior; 

17 (iii) provide information upon which 

18 choices can be made by the public; 

19 (iv) incorporate other innovative alter20 natives rather than agency actions that 

21 specify conduct or manners of compliance; 

22 or 

23 (v) could in other ways substantially 

24 lower costs without significantly under25 mining effectiveness. 


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1 (G) Whether the rule or set of rules inhib2 its innovation in or growth of the United States 

3 economy, such as by impeding the introduction 

4 or use of safer or equally safe technology that 

5 is newer or more efficient than technology re6 quired by or permissible under the rule or set 

7 of rules. 

8 (H) Whether or not the rule or set of rules 

9 harms competition within the United States 

10 economy or the international economic competi11 tiveness of enterprises or entities based in the 

12 United States. 

13 (I) Whether or not the rule or set of rules 

14 limits or prevents an agency from applying new 

15 or emerging technologies to improve efficiency 

16 and effectiveness of government. 

17 (J) Whether the rule or set of rules harms 

18 wage growth, including wage growth for min19 imum wage and part-time workers. 

20 (K) Such other criteria as the Commission 

21 devises to identify rules and sets of rules that 

22 can be repealed to eliminate or reduce unneces23 sarily burdensome costs to the United States 

24 economy. 


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1 (3) METHODOLOGY FOR REVIEW.—The Com2 mission shall establish a methodology for conducting 

3 the review (including an overall review and discrete 

4 reviews of portions of the Code of Federal Regula5 tions), identifying rules and sets of rules, and 

6 classifying rules under this subsection and publish 

7 the terms of the methodology in the Federal Reg8 ister and on the website of the Commission. The 

9 Commission may propose and seek public comment 

10 on the methodology before the methodology is estab11 lished. 

12 (4) CLASSIFICATION OF RULES AND SETS OF

13 RULES.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—After completion of any 

15 review of rules or sets of rules under paragraph 

16 (2), the Commission shall classify each rule or 

17 set of rules identified in the review to qualify 

18 for recommended repeal as either a rule or set 

19 of rules— 

20 (i) on which immediate action to re21 peal is recommended; or 

22 (ii) that should be eligible for repeal 

23 under regulatory cut-go procedures under 

24 title II. 


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1 (B) DECISIONS BY MAJORITY.—Each deci2 sion by the Commission to identify a rule or set 

3 of rules for classification under this paragraph, 

4 and each decision whether to classify the rule or 

5 set of rules under clause (i) or (ii) of subpara6 graph (A), shall be made by a simple majority 

7 vote of the Commission. No such vote shall take 

8 place until after all members of the Commission 

9 have been confirmed by the Senate. 

10 (5) INITIATION OF REVIEW BY OTHER PER11 SONS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

13 also conduct a review under paragraph (2) of, 

14 and, if appropriate, classify under paragraph 

15 (4), any rule or set of rules that is submitted 

16 for review to the Commission by— 

17 (i) the President; 

18 (ii) a Member of Congress; 

19 (iii) any officer or employee of a Fed20 eral, State, local or tribal government, or 

21 regional governmental body; or 

22 (iv) any member of the public. 

23 (B) FORM OF SUBMISSION.—A submission 

24 to the Commission under this paragraph 

25 shall— 


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1 (i) identify the specific rule or set of 

2 rules submitted for review; 

3 (ii) provide a statement of evidence to 

4 demonstrate that the rule or set of rules 

5 qualifies to be identified for repeal under 

6 the criteria listed in paragraph (2); and 

7 (iii) such other information as the 

8 submitter believes may be helpful to the 

9 Commission’s review, including a state10 ment of the submitter’s interest in the 

11 matter. 

12 (C) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Commis13 sion shall make each submission received under 

14 this paragraph available on the website of the 

15 Commission as soon as possible, but not later 

16 than 1 week after the date on which the sub17 mission was received. 

18 (i) NOTICES AND REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

19 (1) NOTICES OF AND REPORTS ON ACTIVI20 TIES.—The Commission shall publish, in the Federal 

21 Register and on the website of the Commission— 

22 (A) notices in advance of all public meet23 ings, hearings, and classifications under sub24 section (h) informing the public of the basis, 


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1 purpose, and procedures for the meeting, hear2 ing, or classification; and 

3 (B) reports after the conclusion of any 

4 public meeting, hearing, or classification under 

5 subsection (h) summarizing in detail the basis, 

6 purpose, and substance of the meeting, hearing, 

7 or classification. 

8 (2) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Each 

9 year, beginning on the date that is one year after 

10 the date on which all Commission members have 

11 been confirmed by the Senate, the Commission shall 

12 submit a report simultaneously to each House of 

13 Congress detailing the activities of the Commission 

14 for the previous year, and listing all rules and sets 

15 of rules classified under subsection (h) during that 

16 year. For each rule or set of rules so listed, the 

17 Commission shall— 

18 (A) identify the agency that made the rule 

19 or set of rules; 

20 (B) identify the annual cost of the rule or 

21 set of rules to the United States economy and 

22 the basis upon which the Commission identified 

23 that cost; 


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1 (C) identify whether the rule or set of rules 

2 was classified under clause (i) or clause (ii) of 

3 subsection (h)(4)(A); 

4 (D) identify the criteria under subsection 

5 (h)(2) that caused the classification of the rule 

6 or set of rules and the basis upon which the 

7 Commission determined that those criteria were 

8 met; 

9 (E) for each rule or set of rules listed 

10 under the criteria set forth in subparagraph 

11 (B), (D), (F), (G), (H), or (I) of subsection 

12 (h)(2), or other criteria established by the Com13 mission under subparagraph (I) of such sub14 section under which the Commission evaluated 

15 alternatives to the rule or set of rules that could 

16 lead to lower regulatory costs, identify alter17 natives to the rule or set of rules that the Com18 mission recommends the agency consider as re19 placements for the rule or set of rules and the 

20 basis on which the Commission rests the rec21 ommendations, and, in identifying such alter22 natives, emphasize alternatives that will achieve 

23 regulatory effectiveness at the lowest cost and 

24 with the lowest adverse impacts on jobs; 


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1 (F) for each rule or set of rules listed 

2 under the criteria set forth in subsection 

3 (h)(2)(E), the other Federal, State, or local 

4 governmental rules that the Commission found 

5 the rule or set of rules to overlap, duplicate, or 

6 conflict with, and the basis for the findings of 

7 the Commission; and 

8 (G) in the case of each set of rules so list9 ed, analyze whether Congress should also con10 sider repeal of the statutory authority imple11 mented by the set of rules. 

12 (3) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than the date 

13 on which the Commission members’ appointments 

14 expire, the Commission shall submit a final report 

15 simultaneously to each House of Congress summa16 rizing all activities and recommendations of the 

17 Commission, including a list of all rules or sets of 

18 rules the Commission classified under clause (i) of 

19 subsection (h)(4)(A) for immediate action to repeal, 

20 a separate list of all rules or sets of rules the Com21 mission classified under clause (ii) of subsection 

22 (h)(4)(A) for repeal, and with regard to each rule or 

23 set of rules listed on either list, the information de24 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of sub25 section (h)(2). This report may be included in the 


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1 final annual report of the Commission under para2 graph (2) and may include the Commission’s rec3 ommendation whether the Commission should be re4 authorized by Congress. 

5 (j) REPEAL OF REGULATIONS; CONGRESSIONAL

6 CONSIDERATION OF COMMISSION REPORTS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2)— 

8 (A) the head of each agency with authority 

9 to repeal a rule or set of rules classified by the 

10 Commission under subsection (h)(4)(A)(i) for 

11 immediate action to repeal and newly listed as 

12 such in an annual or final report of the Com13 mission under paragraph (2) or (3) of sub14 section (i) shall repeal the rule or set of rules 

15 as recommended by the Commission within 60 

16 days after the enactment of a joint resolution 

17 under paragraph (2) for approval of the rec18 ommendations of the Commission in the report; 

19 and 

20 (B) the head of each agency with authority 

21 to repeal a rule or set of rules classified by the 

22 Commission under subsection (h)(4)(A)(ii) for 

23 repeal and newly listed as such in an annual or 

24 final report of the Commission under paragraph 

25 (2) or (3) of subsection (i) shall repeal the rule 


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1 or set of rules as recommended by the Commis2 sion pursuant to section 201, following the en3 actment of a joint resolution under paragraph 

4 (2) for approval of the recommendations of the 

5 Commission in the report. 

6 (2) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—No head of an agency 

8 described in paragraph (1) shall be required by 

9 this Act to carry out a repeal listed by the 

10 Commission in a report transmitted to Congress 

11 under paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (i) 

12 until a joint resolution is enacted, in accordance 

13 with the provisions of subparagraph (B), ap14 proving such recommendations of the Commis15 sion for repeal. 

16 (B) TERMS OF THE RESOLUTION.—For 

17 purposes of paragraph (A), the term ‘‘joint res18 olution’’ means only a joint resolution which is 

19 introduced after the date on which the Commis20 sion transmits to the Congress under paragraph 

21 (2) or (3) of subsection (i) the report con22 taining the recommendations to which the reso23 lution pertains, and— 

24 (i) which does not have a preamble; 


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1 (ii) the matter after the resolving 

2 clause of which is only as follows: ‘‘That 

3 Congress approves the recommendations 

4 for repeal of the Retrospective Regulatory 

5 Review Commission as submitted by the 

6 Commission on llll’’, the blank 

7 space being filled in with the appropriate 

8 date; and 

9 (iii) the title of which is as follows: 

10 ‘‘Approving recommendations for repeal of 

11 the Retrospective Regulatory Review Com12 mission.’’. 

13 (3) REISSUANCE OF RULES.— 

14 (A) NO SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR RULE TO

15 BE REISSUED.—A rule that is repealed under 

16 paragraph (1) or section 201 may not be re17 issued in substantially the same form, and a 

18 new rule that is substantially the same as such 

19 a rule may not be issued, unless the reissued or 

20 new rule is specifically authorized by a law en21 acted after the date of the joint resolution ap22 proving the Commission’s recommendation to 

23 repeal the original rule. 

24 (B) AGENCY TO ENSURE AVOIDANCE OF

25 SIMILAR DEFECTS.—An agency, in making any 


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1 new rule to implement statutory authority pre2 viously implemented by a rule repealed under 

3 paragraph (1) or section 201, shall ensure that 

4 the new rule does not result in the same ad5 verse effects of the repealed rule that caused 

6 the Commission to recommend to Congress the 

7 latter’s repeal and will not result in new adverse 

8 effects of the kind described in the criteria 

9 specified in or under subsection (h). 

10 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

12 appropriated such sums as may be necessary to the 

13 Commission to carry out this Act, not to exceed 

14 $30,000,000. 

15 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Any sums appropriated 

16 under the authorization contained in this section 

17 shall remain available, without fiscal year limitation, 

18 until the earlier of the date that such sums are ex19 pended or the date of the termination of the Com20 mission. 

21 (l) WEBSITE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall estab23 lish a public website that— 

24 (A) uses current information technology to 

25 make records available on the website; 


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1 (B) provides information in a standard 

2 data format; and 

3 (C) receives and publishes public com4 ments. 

5 (2) PUBLISHING OF INFORMATION.—Any infor6 mation required to be made available on the website 

7 established pursuant to this Act shall be published 

8 in a timely manner and shall be accessible by the 

9 public on the website at no cost. 

10 (3) RECORD OF PUBLIC MEETINGS AND HEAR11 INGS.—All records of public meetings and hearings 

12 shall be published on the website as soon as possible, 

13 but not later than 1 week after the date on which 

14 such public meeting or hearing occurred. 

15 (4) PUBLIC COMMENTS.—The Commission shall 

16 publish on the website all public comments and sub17 missions. 

18 (5) NOTICES.—The Commission shall publish 

19 on the website notices of all public meetings and 

20 hearings at least one week before the date on which 

21 such public meeting or hearing occurs. 

22 (m) APPLICABILITY OF THE FEDERAL ADVISORY

23 COMMITTEE ACT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro25 vided in this Act, the Commission shall be subject to 


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1 the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee 

2 Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

3 (2) ADVISORY COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT OFFI4 CER.—The Commission shall not be subject to the 

5 control of any Advisory Committee Management Of6 ficer designated under section 8(b)(1) of the Federal 

7 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

8 (3) SUBCOMMITTEE.—Any subcommittee of the 

9 Commission shall be treated as the Commission for 

10 purposes of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

11 U.S.C. App.). 

12 (4) CHARTER.—The enactment of the SCRUB 

13 Act shall be considered to meet the requirements of 

14 the Commission under section 9(c) of the Federal 

15 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

16 (n) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘un17 funded mandate’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘Fed18 eral mandate’’ in section 421(6) of the Congressional 

19 Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658(6)). 

20 TITLE II—REGULATORY CUT-GO 

21 SEC. 201. CUT-GO PROCEDURES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in section 

23 101(j)(2)(A) or section 202, an agency, when the agency 

24 makes a new rule, shall repeal rules or sets of rules of 

25 that agency classified by the Commission under section 


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1 101(h)(4)(A)(ii), such that the annual costs of the new 

2 rule to the United States economy is offset by such re3 peals, in an amount equal to or greater than the cost of 

4 the new rule, based on the regulatory cost reductions of 

5 repeal identified by the Commission. 

6 (b) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE.—An agency may, al7 ternatively, repeal rules or sets of rules of that agency 

8 classified by the Commission under section 

9 101(h)(4)(A)(ii) prior to the time specified in subsection 

10 (a). If the agency so repeals such a rule or set of rules 

11 and thereby reduces the annual, inflation-adjusted cost of 

12 the rule or set of rules to the United States economy, the 

13 agency may thereafter apply the reduction in regulatory 

14 costs, based on the regulatory cost reductions of repeal 

15 identified by the Commission, to meet, in whole or in part, 

16 the regulatory cost reduction required under subsection 

17 (a) of this section to be made at the time the agency pro18 mulgates a new rule. 

19 (c) ACHIEVEMENT OF FULL NET COST REDUC20 TIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the provisions of 

22 paragraph (2), an agency may offset the costs of a 

23 new rule or set of rules by repealing a rule or set 

24 of rules listed by the Commission under section 


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1 101(h)(4)(A)(ii) that implement the same statutory 

2 authority as the new rule or set of rules. 

3 (2) LIMITATION.—When using the authority 

4 provided in paragraph (1), the agency must achieve 

5 a net reduction in costs imposed by the agency’s 

6 body of rules (including the new rule or set of rules) 

7 that is equal to or greater than the cost of the new 

8 rule or set of rules to be promulgated, including, 

9 whenever necessary, by repealing additional rules of 

10 the agency listed by the Commission under section 

11 101(h)(4)(A)(ii). 

12 SEC. 202. APPLICABILITY. 

13 An agency shall no longer be subject to the require14 ments of sections 201 and 203 beginning on the date that 

15 there is no rule or set of rules of the agency classified 

16 by the Commission under section 101(h)(4)(A)(ii) that has 

17 not been repealed such that all regulatory cost reductions 

18 identified by the Commission to be achievable through re19 peal have been achieved. 

20 SEC. 203. OIRA CERTIFICATION OF COST CALCULATIONS. 

21 The Administrator of the Office of Information and 

22 Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and 

23 Budget shall review and certify the accuracy of agency de24 terminations of the costs of new rules under section 201. 

25 The certification shall be included in the administrative 


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1 record of the relevant rulemaking by the agency promul2 gating the rule, and the Administrator shall transmit a 

3 copy of the certification to Congress when it transmits the 

4 certification to the agency. 

5 TITLE III—RETROSPECTIVE 

6 REVIEW OF NEW RULES 

7 SEC. 301. PLAN FOR FUTURE REVIEW. 

8 When an agency makes a rule, the agency shall in9 clude in the final issuance of such rule a plan for the re10 view of such rule by not later than 10 years after the date 

11 such rule is made. Such a review, in the case of a major 

12 rule, shall be substantially similar to the review by the 

13 Commission under section 101(h). In the case of a rule 

14 other than a major rule, the agency’s plan for review shall 

15 include other procedures and standards to enable the 

16 agency to determine whether to repeal or amend the rule 

17 to eliminate unnecessary regulatory costs to the economy. 

18 Whenever feasible, the agency shall include a proposed 

19 plan for review of a proposed rule in its notice of proposed 

20 rulemaking and shall receive public comment on the plan. 

21 TITLE IV—JUDICIAL REVIEW 

22 SEC. 401. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

23 (a) IMMEDIATE REPEALS.—Agency compliance with 

24 section 101(j) of this Act shall be subject to judicial review 

25 under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 (b) CUT-GO PROCEDURES.—Agency compliance with 

2 title II of this Act shall be subject to judicial review under 

3 chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. 

4 (c) PLANS FOR FUTURE REVIEW.—Agency compli5 ance with section 301 shall be subject to judicial review 

6 under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. 

7 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

8 PROVISIONS 

9 SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

12 meaning given such term in section 551 of title 5, 

13 United States Code. 

14 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

15 means the Retrospective Regulatory Review Commis16 sion established under section 101. 

17 (3) MAJOR RULE.—The term ‘‘major rule’’ 

18 means any rule that the Administrator of the Office 

19 of Information and Regulatory Affairs determines is 

20 likely to impose— 

21 (A) an annual cost on the economy of 

22 $100,000,000 or more, adjusted annually for 

23 inflation; 

24 (B) a major increase in costs or prices for 

25 consumers, individual industries, Federal, 


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1 State, local, or tribal government agencies, or 

2 geographic regions; 

3 (C) significant adverse effects on competi4 tion, employment, investment, productivity, in5 novation, or on the ability of United States6 based enterprises to compete with foreign-based 

7 enterprises in domestic and export markets; or 

8 (D) significant impacts on multiple sectors 

9 of the economy. 

10 (4) RULE.—The term ‘‘rule’’ has the meaning 

11 given that term in section 551 of title 5, United 

12 States Code. 

13 (5) SET OF RULES.—The term ‘‘set of rules’’ 

14 means a set of rules that collectively implements a 

15 regulatory authority of an agency. 

16 SEC. 502. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

17 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

18 take effect beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

19 Act. 

Æ 


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