IB 

Union Calendar No. 2 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 998 

[Report No. 115–14, Part I] 

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 

FEBRUARY 21, 2017 

Additional sponsors: Mr. SESSIONS and Mr. CHAFFETZ

FEBRUARY 21, 2017 

Reported from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

FEBRUARY 21, 2017 

The Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed to the Committee of 

the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


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A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of a process for the review 

of rules and sets of rules, 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 ‘‘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. 

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. 

8 TITLE I—RETROSPECTIVE REGU9 LATORY REVIEW COMMIS10 SION 

11 SEC. 101. IN GENERAL. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com13 mission, to be known as the ‘‘Retrospective Regulatory Re14 view Commission’’, that shall review rules and sets of rules 

15 in accordance with specified criteria to determine if a rule 


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1 or set of rules should be repealed to eliminate or reduce 

2 the costs of regulation to the economy. The Commission 

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

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

5 the date by which all Commission members’ terms have 

6 commenced, whichever is later. 

7 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

8 (1) NUMBER.—The Commission shall be com9 posed of 9 members who shall be appointed by the 

10 President and confirmed by the Senate. Each mem11 ber shall be appointed not later than 180 days after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act. 

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

14 commence upon the member’s confirmation by the 

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

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

17 or that is 5 years after the date by which all mem18 bers have been confirmed by the Senate, whichever 

19 is later. 

20 (3) APPOINTMENT.—The members of the Com21 mission shall be appointed as follows: 

22 (A) CHAIR.—The President shall appoint 

23 as the Chair of the Commission an individual 

24 with expertise and experience in rulemaking, 

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1 formation and Regulatory Affairs, past chair2 men of the Administrative Conference of the 

3 United States, and other individuals with simi4 lar expertise and experience in rulemaking af5 fairs and the administration of regulatory re6 views. 

7 (B) CANDIDATE LIST OF MEMBERS.—The 

8 Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 

9 Minority Leader of the House of Representa10 tives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, and 

11 the Minority Leader of the Senate shall each 

12 present to the President a list of candidates to 

13 be members of the Commission. Such can14 didates shall be individuals learned in rule15 making affairs and, preferably, administration 

16 of regulatory reviews. The President shall ap17 point 2 members of the Commission from each 

18 list provided under this subparagraph, subject 

19 to the provisions of subparagraph (C). 

20 (C) RESUBMISSION OF CANDIDATE.—The 

21 President may request from the presenter of 

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

23 one or more candidates if the President— 

24 (i) determines that any candidate on 

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1 graph (B) does not meet the qualifications 

2 specified in such subparagraph to be a 

3 member of the Commission; and 

4 (ii) certifies that determination to the 

5 congressional officials specified in subpara6 graph (B). 

7 (c) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES OF THE COMMIS8 SION.— 

9 (1) MEETINGS.—The Commission may meet 

10 when, where, and as often as the Commission deter11 mines appropriate, except that the Commission shall 

12 hold public meetings not less than twice each year. 

13 All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the 

14 public. 

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

16 under paragraph (1), the Commission may hold 

17 hearings to consider issues of fact or law relevant to 

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

19 Commission shall be open to the public. 

20 (3) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Commis21 sion may secure directly from any agency informa22 tion and documents necessary to enable the Commis23 sion to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Chair 

24 of the Commission, the head of that agency shall 

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1 mission as soon as possible, but not later than two 

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

3 (4) SUBPOENAS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

5 issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and 

6 testimony of witnesses and the production of 

7 any evidence relating to the duties of the Com8 mission. The attendance of witnesses and the 

9 production of evidence may be required from 

10 any place within the United States at any des11 ignated place of hearing within the United 

12 States. 

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

14 person refuses to obey a subpoena issued under 

15 subparagraph (A), the Commission may apply 

16 to a United States district court for an order 

17 requiring that person to appear before the Com18 mission to give testimony, produce evidence, or 

19 both, relating to the matter under investigation. 

20 The application may be made within the judicial 

21 district where the hearing is conducted or where 

22 that person is found, resides, or transacts busi23 ness. Any failure to obey the order of the court 

24 may be punished by the court as civil contempt. 


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1 (C) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The sub2 poenas of the Commission shall be served in the 

3 manner provided for subpoenas issued by a 

4 United States district court under the Federal 

5 Rules of Civil Procedure for the United States 

6 district courts. 

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

8 any court to which application is made under 

9 subparagraph (B) may be served in the judicial 

10 district in which the person required to be 

11 served resides or may be found. 

12 (d) PAY AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 

13 (1) PAY.— 

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

15 the Chair of the Commission, shall be paid at 

16 a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the min17 imum annual rate of basic pay payable for level 

18 IV of the Executive Schedule under section 

19 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each 

20 day (including travel time) during which the 

21 member is engaged in the actual performance of 

22 duties vested in the Commission. 

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

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

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1 imum annual rate of basic pay payable for level 

2 III of the Executive Schedule under section 

3 5314 of title 5, United States Code. 

4 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members shall receive 

5 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsist6 ence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of 

7 title 5, United States Code. 

8 (e) DIRECTOR OF STAFF.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall ap10 point a Director. 

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

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

13 Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United 

14 States Code. 

15 (f) STAFF.— 

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

17 the Director, with the approval of the Commission, 

18 may appoint, fix the pay of, and terminate addi19 tional personnel. 

20 (2) LIMITATIONS ON APPOINTMENT.—The Di21 rector may make such appointments without regard 

22 to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov23 erning appointments in the competitive service, and 

24 any personnel so appointed may be paid without re25 gard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter 


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1 III of chapter 53 of that title relating to classifica2 tion and General Schedule pay rates, except that an 

3 individual so appointed may not receive pay in ex4 cess of the annual rate of basic pay payable for GS– 

5 15 of the General Schedule. 

6 (3) AGENCY ASSISTANCE.—Following consulta7 tion with and upon request of the Chair of the Com8 mission, the head of any agency may detail any of 

9 the personnel of that agency to the Commission to 

10 assist the Commission in carrying out the duties of 

11 the Commission under this Act. 

12 (4) GAO AND OIRA ASSISTANCE.—The Comp13 troller General of the United States and the Admin14 istrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory 

15 Affairs shall provide assistance, including the detail16 ing of employees, to the Commission in accordance 

17 with an agreement entered into with the Commis18 sion. 

19 (5) ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER PARTIES.—Con20 gress, the States, municipalities, federally recognized 

21 Indian tribes, and local governments may provide as22 sistance, including the detailing of employees, to the 

23 Commission in accordance with an agreement en24 tered into with the Commission. 

25 (g) OTHER AUTHORITY.— 


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1 (1) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Com2 mission may procure by contract, to the extent funds 

3 are available, the temporary or intermittent services 

4 of experts or consultants pursuant to section 3109 

5 of title 5, United States Code. 

6 (2) PROPERTY.—The Commission may lease 

7 space and acquire personal property to the extent 

8 funds are available. 

9 (h) DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con11 duct a review of the Code of Federal Regulations to 

12 identify rules and sets of rules that collectively im13 plement a regulatory program that should be re14 pealed to lower the cost of regulation to the econ15 omy. The Commission shall give priority in the re16 view to rules or sets of rules that are major rules 

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

18 15 years, impose paperwork burdens or unfunded 

19 mandates that could be reduced substantially with20 out significantly diminishing regulatory effectiveness, 

21 impose disproportionately high costs on entities that 

22 qualify as small entities within the meaning of sec23 tion 601(6) of title 5, United States Code, or could 

24 be strengthened in their effectiveness while reducing 

25 regulatory costs. The Commission shall have as a 


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1 goal of the Commission to achieve a reduction of at 

2 least 15 percent in the cumulative costs of Federal 

3 regulation with a minimal reduction in the overall ef4 fectiveness of such regulation. 

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

6 rules and sets of rules should be repealed to lower 

7 the cost of regulation to the economy, the Commis8 sion shall apply the following criteria: 

9 (A) Whether the original purpose of the 

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

11 or set of rules could be repealed without signifi12 cant recurrence of adverse effects or conduct 

13 that the rule or set of rules was intended to 

14 prevent or reduce. 

15 (B) Whether the implementation, compli16 ance, administration, enforcement, imposition of 

17 unfunded mandates, or other costs of the rule 

18 or set of rules to the economy are not justified 

19 by the benefits to society within the United 

20 States produced by the expenditure of those 

21 costs. 

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

23 been rendered unnecessary or obsolete, taking 

24 into consideration the length of time since the 

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1 nology, economic conditions, market practices, 

2 or other relevant factors have changed in the 

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

4 (D) Whether the rule or set of rules is in5 effective at achieving the purposes of the rule or 

6 set of rules. 

7 (E) Whether the rule or set of rules over8 laps, duplicates, or conflicts with other Federal 

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

10 local governmental rules. 

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

12 excessive compliance costs, imposes unfunded 

13 mandates, or is otherwise excessively burden14 some, as compared to alternatives that— 

15 (i) specify performance objectives 

16 rather than conduct or manners of compli17 ance; 

18 (ii) establish economic incentives to 

19 encourage desired behavior; 

20 (iii) provide information upon which 

21 choices can be made by the public; 

22 (iv) incorporate other innovative alter23 natives rather than agency actions that 

24 specify conduct or manners of compliance; 

25 or 


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1 (v) could in other ways substantially 

2 lower costs without significantly under3 mining effectiveness. 

4 (G) Whether the rule or set of rules inhib5 its innovation in or growth of the United States 

6 economy, such as by impeding the introduction 

7 or use of safer or equally safe technology that 

8 is newer or more efficient than technology re9 quired by or permissible under the rule or set 

10 of rules. 

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

12 harms competition within the United States 

13 economy or the international economic competi14 tiveness of enterprises or entities based in the 

15 United States. 

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

17 limits or prevents an agency from applying new 

18 or emerging technologies to improve efficiency 

19 and effectiveness of government. 

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

21 wage growth, including wage growth for min22 imum wage and part-time workers. 

23 (K) Such other criteria as the Commission 

24 devises to identify rules and sets of rules that 

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1 sarily burdensome costs to the United States 

2 economy. 

3 (3) METHODOLOGY FOR REVIEW.—The Com4 mission shall establish a methodology for conducting 

5 the review (including an overall review and discrete 

6 reviews of portions of the Code of Federal Regula7 tions), identifying rules and sets of rules, and 

8 classifying rules under this subsection and publish 

9 the terms of the methodology in the Federal Reg10 ister and on the website of the Commission. The 

11 Commission may propose and seek public comment 

12 on the methodology before the methodology is estab13 lished. 

14 (4) CLASSIFICATION OF RULES AND SETS OF

15 RULES.— 

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

17 review of rules or sets of rules under paragraph 

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

19 set of rules identified in the review to qualify 

20 for recommended repeal as either a rule or set 

21 of rules— 

22 (i) on which immediate action to re23 peal is recommended; or 


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1 (ii) that should be eligible for repeal 

2 under regulatory cut-go procedures under 

3 title II. 

4 (B) DECISIONS BY MAJORITY.—Each deci5 sion by the Commission to identify a rule or set 

6 of rules for classification under this paragraph, 

7 and each decision whether to classify the rule or 

8 set of rules under clause (i) or (ii) of subpara9 graph (A), shall be made by a simple majority 

10 vote of the Commission. No such vote shall take 

11 place until after all members of the Commission 

12 have been confirmed by the Senate. 

13 (5) INITIATION OF REVIEW BY OTHER PER14 SONS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

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

17 and, if appropriate, classify under paragraph 

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

19 for review to the Commission by— 

20 (i) the President; 

21 (ii) a Member of Congress; 

22 (iii) any officer or employee of a Fed23 eral, State, local or tribal government, or 

24 regional governmental body; or 

25 (iv) any member of the public. 


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1 (B) FORM OF SUBMISSION.—A submission 

2 to the Commission under this paragraph 

3 shall— 

4 (i) identify the specific rule or set of 

5 rules submitted for review; 

6 (ii) provide a statement of evidence to 

7 demonstrate that the rule or set of rules 

8 qualifies to be identified for repeal under 

9 the criteria listed in paragraph (2); and 

10 (iii) such other information as the 

11 submitter believes may be helpful to the 

12 Commission’s review, including a state13 ment of the submitter’s interest in the 

14 matter. 

15 (C) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Commis16 sion shall make each submission received under 

17 this paragraph available on the website of the 

18 Commission as soon as possible, but not later 

19 than 1 week after the date on which the sub20 mission was received. 

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

22 (1) NOTICES OF AND REPORTS ON ACTIVI23 TIES.—The Commission shall publish, in the Federal 

24 Register and on the website of the Commission— 


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1 (A) notices in advance of all public meet2 ings, hearings, and classifications under sub3 section (h) informing the public of the basis, 

4 purpose, and procedures for the meeting, hear5 ing, or classification; and 

6 (B) reports after the conclusion of any 

7 public meeting, hearing, or classification under 

8 subsection (h) summarizing in detail the basis, 

9 purpose, and substance of the meeting, hearing, 

10 or classification. 

11 (2) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Each 

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

13 the date on which all Commission members have 

14 been confirmed by the Senate, the Commission shall 

15 submit a report simultaneously to each House of 

16 Congress detailing the activities of the Commission 

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

18 of rules classified under subsection (h) during that 

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

20 Commission shall— 

21 (A) identify the agency that made the rule 

22 or set of rules; 

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

24 set of rules to the United States economy and 


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1 the basis upon which the Commission identified 

2 that cost; 

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

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

5 subsection (h)(4)(A); 

6 (D) identify the criteria under subsection 

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

8 or set of rules and the basis upon which the 

9 Commission determined that those criteria were 

10 met; 

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

12 under the criteria set forth in subparagraph 

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

14 (h)(2), or other criteria established by the Com15 mission under subparagraph (I) of such sub16 section under which the Commission evaluated 

17 alternatives to the rule or set of rules that could 

18 lead to lower regulatory costs, identify alter19 natives to the rule or set of rules that the Com20 mission recommends the agency consider as re21 placements for the rule or set of rules and the 

22 basis on which the Commission rests the rec23 ommendations, and, in identifying such alter24 natives, emphasize alternatives that will achieve 


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1 regulatory effectiveness at the lowest cost and 

2 with the lowest adverse impacts on jobs; 

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

4 under the criteria set forth in subsection 

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

6 governmental rules that the Commission found 

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

8 conflict with, and the basis for the findings of 

9 the Commission; and 

10 (G) in the case of each set of rules so list11 ed, analyze whether Congress should also con12 sider repeal of the statutory authority imple13 mented by the set of rules. 

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

15 on which the Commission members’ appointments 

16 expire, the Commission shall submit a final report 

17 simultaneously to each House of Congress summa18 rizing all activities and recommendations of the 

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

20 rules the Commission classified under clause (i) of 

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

22 a separate list of all rules or sets of rules the Com23 mission classified under clause (ii) of subsection 

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

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1 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of sub2 section (h)(2). This report may be included in the 

3 final annual report of the Commission under para4 graph (2) and may include the Commission’s rec5 ommendation whether the Commission should be re6 authorized by Congress. 

7 (j) REPEAL OF REGULATIONS; CONGRESSIONAL

8 CONSIDERATION OF COMMISSION REPORTS.— 

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

10 (A) the head of each agency with authority 

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

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

13 immediate action to repeal and newly listed as 

14 such in an annual or final report of the Com15 mission under paragraph (2) or (3) of sub16 section (i) shall repeal the rule or set of rules 

17 as recommended by the Commission within 60 

18 days after the enactment of a joint resolution 

19 under paragraph (2) for approval of the rec20 ommendations of the Commission in the report; 

21 and 

22 (B) the head of each agency with authority 

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

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

25 repeal and newly listed as such in an annual or 


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1 final report of the Commission under paragraph 

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

3 or set of rules as recommended by the Commis4 sion pursuant to section 201, following the en5 actment of a joint resolution under paragraph 

6 (2) for approval of the recommendations of the 

7 Commission in the report. 

8 (2) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.— 

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

10 described in paragraph (1) shall be required by 

11 this Act to carry out a repeal listed by the 

12 Commission in a report transmitted to Congress 

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

14 until a joint resolution is enacted, in accordance 

15 with the provisions of subparagraph (B), ap16 proving such recommendations of the Commis17 sion for repeal. 

18 (B) TERMS OF THE RESOLUTION.—For 

19 purposes of paragraph (A), the term ‘‘joint res20 olution’’ means only a joint resolution which is 

21 introduced after the date on which the Commis22 sion transmits to the Congress under paragraph 

23 (2) or (3) of subsection (i) the report con24 taining the recommendations to which the reso25 lution pertains, and— 


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1 (i) which does not have a preamble; 

2 (ii) the matter after the resolving 

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

4 Congress approves the recommendations 

5 for repeal of the Retrospective Regulatory 

6 Review Commission as submitted by the 

7 Commission on llll’’, the blank 

8 space being filled in with the appropriate 

9 date; and 

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

11 ‘‘Approving recommendations for repeal of 

12 the Retrospective Regulatory Review Com13 mission.’’. 

14 (3) REISSUANCE OF RULES.— 

15 (A) NO SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR RULE TO

16 BE REISSUED.—A rule that is repealed under 

17 paragraph (1) or section 201 may not be re18 issued in substantially the same form, and a 

19 new rule that is substantially the same as such 

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

21 new rule is specifically authorized by a law en22 acted after the date of the joint resolution ap23 proving the Commission’s recommendation to 

24 repeal the original rule. 


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1 (B) AGENCY TO ENSURE AVOIDANCE OF

2 SIMILAR DEFECTS.—An agency, in making any 

3 new rule to implement statutory authority pre4 viously implemented by a rule repealed under 

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

6 the new rule does not result in the same ad7 verse effects of the repealed rule that caused 

8 the Commission to recommend to Congress the 

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

10 effects of the kind described in the criteria 

11 specified in or under subsection (h). 

12 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

14 appropriated such sums as may be necessary to the 

15 Commission to carry out this Act, not to exceed 

16 $30,000,000. 

17 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Any sums appropriated 

18 under the authorization contained in this section 

19 shall remain available, without fiscal year limitation, 

20 until the earlier of the date that such sums are ex21 pended or the date of the termination of the Com22 mission. 

23 (l) WEBSITE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall estab25 lish a public website that— 


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1 (A) uses current information technology to 

2 make records available on the website; 

3 (B) provides information in a standard 

4 data format; and 

5 (C) receives and publishes public com6 ments. 

7 (2) PUBLISHING OF INFORMATION.—Any infor8 mation required to be made available on the website 

9 established pursuant to this Act shall be published 

10 in a timely manner and shall be accessible by the 

11 public on the website at no cost. 

12 (3) RECORD OF PUBLIC MEETINGS AND HEAR13 INGS.—All records of public meetings and hearings 

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

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

16 such public meeting or hearing occurred. 

17 (4) PUBLIC COMMENTS.—The Commission shall 

18 publish on the website all public comments and sub19 missions. 

20 (5) NOTICES.—The Commission shall publish 

21 on the website notices of all public meetings and 

22 hearings at least one week before the date on which 

23 such public meeting or hearing occurs. 

24 (m) APPLICABILITY OF THE FEDERAL ADVISORY

25 COMMITTEE ACT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro2 vided in this Act, the Commission shall be subject to 

3 the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee 

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

5 (2) ADVISORY COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT OFFI6 CER.—The Commission shall not be subject to the 

7 control of any Advisory Committee Management Of8 ficer designated under section 8(b)(1) of the Federal 

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

10 (3) SUBCOMMITTEE.—Any subcommittee of the 

11 Commission shall be treated as the Commission for 

12 purposes of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

13 U.S.C. App.). 

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

15 Act shall be considered to meet the requirements of 

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

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

18 (n) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘un19 funded mandate’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘Fed20 eral mandate’’ in section 421(6) of the Congressional 

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

22 TITLE II—REGULATORY CUT-GO 

23 SEC. 201. CUT-GO PROCEDURES. 

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

25 101(j)(2)(A) or section 202, an agency, when the agency 


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

2 that agency classified by the Commission under section 

3 101(h)(4)(A)(ii), such that the annual costs of the new 

4 rule to the United States economy is offset by such re5 peals, in an amount equal to or greater than the cost of 

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

7 repeal identified by the Commission. 

8 (b) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE.—An agency may, al9 ternatively, repeal rules or sets of rules of that agency 

10 classified by the Commission under section 

11 101(h)(4)(A)(ii) prior to the time specified in subsection 

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

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

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

15 agency may thereafter apply the reduction in regulatory 

16 costs, based on the regulatory cost reductions of repeal 

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

18 the regulatory cost reduction required under subsection 

19 (a) of this section to be made at the time the agency pro20 mulgates a new rule. 

21 (c) ACHIEVEMENT OF FULL NET COST REDUC22 TIONS.— 

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

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

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


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1 of rules listed by the Commission under section 

2 101(h)(4)(A)(ii) that implement the same statutory 

3 authority as the new rule or set of rules. 

4 (2) LIMITATION.—When using the authority 

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

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

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

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

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

10 whenever necessary, by repealing additional rules of 

11 the agency listed by the Commission under section 

12 101(h)(4)(A)(ii). 

13 SEC. 202. APPLICABILITY. 

14 An agency shall no longer be subject to the require15 ments of sections 201 and 203 beginning on the date that 

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

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

18 not been repealed such that all regulatory cost reductions 

19 identified by the Commission to be achievable through re20 peal have been achieved. 

21 SEC. 203. OIRA CERTIFICATION OF COST CALCULATIONS. 

22 The Administrator of the Office of Information and 

23 Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and 

24 Budget shall review and certify the accuracy of agency de25 terminations of the costs of new rules under section 201. 


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1 The certification shall be included in the administrative 

2 record of the relevant rulemaking by the agency promul3 gating the rule, and the Administrator shall transmit a 

4 copy of the certification to Congress when it transmits the 

5 certification to the agency. 

6 TITLE III—RETROSPECTIVE 

7 REVIEW OF NEW RULES 

8 SEC. 301. PLAN FOR FUTURE REVIEW. 

9 When an agency makes a rule, the agency shall in10 clude in the final issuance of such rule a plan for the re11 view of such rule by not later than 10 years after the date 

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

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

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

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

16 include other procedures and standards to enable the 

17 agency to determine whether to repeal or amend the rule 

18 to eliminate unnecessary regulatory costs to the economy. 

19 Whenever feasible, the agency shall include a proposed 

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

21 rulemaking and shall receive public comment on the plan. 


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1 TITLE IV—JUDICIAL REVIEW 

2 SEC. 401. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

3 (a) IMMEDIATE REPEALS.—Agency compliance with 

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

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

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

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

8 chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. 

9 (c) PLANS FOR FUTURE REVIEW.—Agency compli10 ance with section 301 shall be subject to judicial review 

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

12 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

13 PROVISIONS 

14 SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

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

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

18 United States Code. 

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

20 means the Retrospective Regulatory Review Commis21 sion established under section 101. 

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

23 means any rule that the Administrator of the Office 

24 of Information and Regulatory Affairs determines is 

25 likely to impose— 


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1 (A) an annual cost on the economy of 

2 $100,000,000 or more, adjusted annually for 

3 inflation; 

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

5 consumers, individual industries, Federal, 

6 State, local, or tribal government agencies, or 

7 geographic regions; 

8 (C) significant adverse effects on competi9 tion, employment, investment, productivity, in10 novation, or on the ability of United States11 based enterprises to compete with foreign-based 

12 enterprises in domestic and export markets; or 

13 (D) significant impacts on multiple sectors 

14 of the economy. 

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

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

17 States Code. 

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

19 means a set of rules that collectively implements a 

20 regulatory authority of an agency. 

21 SEC. 502. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

22 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

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

24 Act. 


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Union Calendar No. 2 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 998 

[Report No. 115–14, Part I] 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of a process for 

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

FEBRUARY 21, 2017 

Reported from the Committee on Oversight and 

F

Government Reform 

EBRUARY 21, 2017 

The Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed 

the Union and ordered to be printed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 


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