I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7867 

To amend the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 to require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to establish a limit for 

the total amount of additional unfunded regulatory costs that may be 

imposed in a fiscal year, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 5, 2024 

Mr. FALLON (for himself, Mr. COMER, and Ms. FOXX) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, 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 amend the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

to require the Director of the Office of Management 

and Budget to establish a limit for the total amount 

of additional unfunded regulatory costs that may be imposed in a fiscal year, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Renewing Efficiency 

3 in Government by Budgeting Act’’ or the ‘‘REG Budg4 eting Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. REGULATORY BUDGETING. 

6 (a) REGULATORY BUDGETING.—Title II of the Un7 funded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104– 

8 4; 15 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 210. REGULATORY BUDGETING. 

11 ‘‘(a) LIMIT FOR THE AMOUNT OF ADDITIONAL UN12 FUNDED REGULATORY COSTS THAT MAY BE IMPOSED

13 EACH FISCAL YEAR.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On or before Sep16 tember 30 of each fiscal year, the Director shall 

17 establish— 

18 ‘‘(i) a limit on the amount of addi19 tional unfunded regulatory costs that may 

20 be imposed collectively by the heads of all 

21 agencies in the next fiscal year; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) as part of the limit established 

23 under clause (i), a limit on the amount of 

24 additional unfunded regulatory costs that 

25 may be imposed individually by the head of 

26 each agency in the next fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL MATTERS RELATED TO

2 LIMIT.—The Director may require as part of a 

3 limit under subparagraph (A), that cumulative 

4 unfunded regulatory costs be reduced, including 

5 for the purpose of offsetting any additional un6 funded regulatory costs that may be imposed by 

7 the heads of agencies during the fiscal year for 

8 which the limit is established. 

9 ‘‘(C) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.—The 

10 Director may not establish a limit under sub11 paragraph (A) that allows the head of an agen12 cy to impose an additional unfunded regulatory 

13 cost unless Congress approves such limit. 

14 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) AGENCY-WIDE LIMIT.—Not later than 

16 7 days after establishing a limit under para17 graph (1)(A)(i), the Director shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) submit a report that identifies the 

19 limit established, and contains a reasoned 

20 statement of the basis and purpose of es21 tablishing such limit, to the appropriate 

22 congressional committees; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) publish the report on the website 

24 designated under subparagraph (D). 


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1 ‘‘(B) AGENCY-SPECIFIC LIMIT.—Not later 

2 than 7 days after establishing a limit under 

3 paragraph (1)(A)(ii) with respect to an agency, 

4 the Director shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) submit a report that identifies the 

6 limit established, and contains a reasoned 

7 statement of the basis and purpose of es8 tablishing such limit, to— 

9 ‘‘(I) the appropriate congres10 sional committees; and 

11 ‘‘(II) each standing committee 

12 with jurisdiction under the rules of 

13 the House of Representatives or the 

14 Senate to report a bill to amend the 

15 provisions of law under which the 

16 head of the agency is authorized to 

17 promulgate rules; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) publish the report on the website 

19 designated under subparagraph (D). 

20 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION ON PROMULGATING

21 CERTAIN RULES UNTIL SUBMISSION OF REPORT

22 TO APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT23 TEES.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The head of an 

25 agency may not finalize a rule that imVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 Apr 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7867.IH H7867

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1 poses an additional unfunded regulatory 

2 cost until the Director submits to the ap3 propriate congressional committees the re4 ports required by subparagraph (A)(i) and 

5 subparagraph (B)(i) for the fiscal year in 

6 which the rule would be finalized. 

7 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition 

8 under clause (i) shall not apply to any rule 

9 with respect to which the President issues 

10 an Executive order stating that the rule 

11 should take effect because the rule is— 

12 ‘‘(I) necessary— 

13 ‘‘(aa) because of an emer14 gency, including an imminent 

15 threat to health or safety; 

16 ‘‘(bb) for the enforcement of 

17 criminal laws; or 

18 ‘‘(cc) for national security; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(II) being issued pursuant to a 

21 law implementing an international 

22 trade agreement. 

23 ‘‘(D) DESIGNATION OF WEBSITE.—Not 

24 later than 90 days after the date of the enact25 ment of this subsection, the Director shall desVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Apr 06, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7867.IH H7867

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1 ignate a website through which the Director will 

2 publish reports in accordance with subpara3 graphs (A) and (B). 

4 ‘‘(b) RULES RESULTING IN LIMIT BEING EXCEED5 ED.— 

6 ‘‘(1) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.—If the pro7 mulgation of any individual rule would result in a 

8 limit established under subsection (a)(1)(A) being 

9 exceeded, the rule may not go into effect during the 

10 fiscal year in which the rule is promulgated unless 

11 and until Congress approves such rule during such 

12 fiscal year. 

13 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—In the case that the head 

14 of an agency determines that finalizing a rule may 

15 result in the amount of additional unfunded regu16 latory costs imposed by the head of the agency dur17 ing that fiscal year to exceed a limit established 

18 under subsection (a)(1)(A), the head of the agen19 cy— 

20 ‘‘(A) shall submit, before promulgating a 

21 general notice of a final rule with respect to 

22 such rule, a notification to the Director that in23 cludes— 

24 ‘‘(i) a justification for exceeding such 

25 limit as a result of such rule; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) by how much the limit will be ex2 ceeded as a result of such rule; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) whether the head of the agency 

4 identified or considered any alternatives to 

5 such rule that would have imposed a lesser 

6 amount of additional unfunded regulatory 

7 costs, and if so, how much less such 

8 amount would have been; and 

9 ‘‘(B) may not promulgate such rule until 

10 the head of the agency receives from the Direc11 tor a notification under paragraph (3)(C) with 

12 respect to such rule. 

13 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION BY DIRECTOR.—After re14 ceiving a notification under paragraph (2), the Di15 rector shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) determine whether finalizing such 

17 rule during that fiscal year will result in a limit 

18 established under subsection (a)(1)(A) being ex19 ceeded; 

20 ‘‘(B) determine whether the Director 

21 agrees with the determination of the head of 

22 the agency that such rule should be finalized 

23 notwithstanding such limit; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) submit a written notification to the 

2 head of the agency on the determinations made 

3 under subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

4 ‘‘(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—In the case that 

5 the Director determines under paragraph (3)(B) 

6 that the Director agrees with a determination by the 

7 head of an agency to finalize a rule that will result 

8 in a limit established under subsection (a)(1)(A) 

9 being exceeded, not later than 7 days after the Di10 rector submits a notification to the head of an agen11 cy under paragraph (3)(C) with respect to such de12 termination, the Director shall submit to the appro13 priate congressional committees, each standing com14 mittee with jurisdiction under the rules of the House 

15 of Representatives or the Senate to report a bill to 

16 amend the provision of law under which the rule is 

17 to be promulgated, and the Comptroller General, a 

18 notification regarding such determination by the Di19 rector that includes— 

20 ‘‘(A) the information provided by the head 

21 of the agency to the Director under paragraph 

22 (2)(A) with respect to such rule; and 

23 ‘‘(B) a reasoned statement of the basis and 

24 purpose of such determination. 


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1 ‘‘(c) STATEMENT REGARDING ADDITIONAL UN2 FUNDED REGULATORY COSTS.—In publishing a general 

3 notice of a final rule, the head of an agency shall include 

4 in such notice a statement that includes— 

5 ‘‘(1) whether the rule will result in the amount 

6 of additional unfunded regulatory costs imposed by 

7 the agency during the fiscal year in which the rule 

8 is finalized to exceed a limit established under sub9 section (a)(1)(A); and 

10 ‘‘(2) in the case that the rule will result in the 

11 amount of additional unfunded regulatory costs im12 posed by the agency during the fiscal year in which 

13 the rule is finalized to exceed a limit established 

14 under subsection (a)(1)(A)— 

15 ‘‘(A) by how much the limit will be exceed16 ed as a result of the rule; 

17 ‘‘(B) a justification for exceeding such 

18 limit as a result of the rule; 

19 ‘‘(C) whether the agency identified or con20 sidered any alternatives to the rule that would 

21 have imposed a lesser amount of additional un22 funded regulatory costs, and if so, how much 

23 less such amount would have been; 


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1 ‘‘(D) that the head of the agency sub2 mitted a notification to the Director under sub3 section (b)(2); and 

4 ‘‘(E) the determinations made by the Di5 rector under subsection (b)(3) with respect to 

6 such rule. 

7 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—On or before October 30 of 

8 each fiscal year, the Director shall submit to the appro9 priate congressional committees a report on the adminis10 tration by the Director of the limits established under sub11 section (a)(1)(A) for the prior fiscal year, including— 

12 ‘‘(1) whether the total amount of additional un13 funded regulatory costs imposed by all agencies in 

14 the prior fiscal year met or exceeded the limit estab15 lished under clause (i) of such subsection; 

16 ‘‘(2) whether the total amount of additional un17 funded regulatory costs imposed by the head of each 

18 agency in the prior fiscal year met or exceeded the 

19 limit established for such costs under clause (ii) of 

20 such subsection; 

21 ‘‘(3) a detailed statement that— 

22 ‘‘(A) identifies by how much, and as a re23 sult of finalizing which rule or rules, any such 

24 limit was exceeded; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) includes a justification for exceeding 

2 any such limit as a result of finalizing such rule 

3 or rules; 

4 ‘‘(4) a list of each rule with respect to which 

5 the Director determined under subsection (b)(3)(B) 

6 that the Director agreed with a determination by the 

7 head of an agency to finalize the rule notwith8 standing a limit established under subsection 

9 (a)(1)(A). 

10 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) ADDITIONAL UNFUNDED REGULATORY

12 COST.—The term ‘additional unfunded regulatory 

13 cost’ means an unfunded regulatory cost that had 

14 not been required to be incurred by a State, local, 

15 or Tribal government, or the private sector, as a re16 sult of a Federal mandate in a rule during any pre17 ceding fiscal year. 

18 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT19 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com20 mittees’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Oversight and Ac22 countability of the House of Representatives; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

25 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 


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1 ‘‘(3) COST.—The term ‘cost’ means— 

2 ‘‘(A) a direct cost; or 

3 ‘‘(B) a quantifiable cost that can be esti4 mated using the methods and concepts de5 scribed in Office of Management and Budget 

6 Circular A–4 issued on September 17, 2003. 

7 ‘‘(4) CUMULATIVE UNFUNDED REGULATORY

8 COSTS.—The term ‘cumulative unfunded regulatory 

9 costs’ means all costs required to be incurred by a 

10 State, local, or Tribal government, or by the private 

11 sector as a result of all Federal mandates included 

12 in rules during all preceding fiscal years. 

13 ‘‘(5) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

14 the Director of the Office of Management and Budg15 et. 

16 ‘‘(6) UNFUNDED REGULATORY COST.—The 

17 term ‘unfunded regulatory cost’ means a cost re18 quired to be incurred by a State, local, or Tribal 

19 government, or by the private sector, as a result of 

20 a Federal mandate included in a rule.’’. 

21 (b) ANALYSIS OF WHETHER RULE EXCEEDS BUDG22 ET.—Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

23 of 1995 (Public Law 104–4; 2 U.S.C. 1532) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

2 inserting a semicolon; 

3 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe4 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(6) an analysis of whether the proposed rule 

7 or final rule, as applicable, may or will result in the 

8 total amount of additional unfunded regulatory costs 

9 (as that term is defined in section 210) imposed by 

10 the head of the agency during the fiscal year in 

11 which the rule is issued exceeding a limit established 

12 under section 210(a)(1)(A)(ii) for the agency.’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘subsection 

14 (a)’’ each place such term appears and inserting 

15 ‘‘paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a)’’. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Notwithstanding section 209 

17 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public 

18 Law 104–4; 15 U.S.C. 1531 note), the amendments made 

19 by this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

20 of this Act. 

Æ 


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