II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5082 

To amend chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, to provide that major 

rules of the executive branch shall have no force or effect unless a 

joint resolution of approval is enacted into law. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 

Mr. PAUL (for himself, Mr. LEE, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. RUBIO, Mrs. 

BLACKBURN, Mr. DAINES, and Mr. SCHMITT) introduced the following 

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

Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, to provide 

that major rules of the executive branch shall have no 

force or effect unless a joint resolution of approval is 

enacted into law. 

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 ‘‘Regulations from the 

5 Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to increase accountability 

3 for and transparency in the Federal regulatory process. 

4 Section 1 of article I of the Constitution of the United 

5 States grants all legislative powers to Congress. Over time, 

6 Congress has excessively delegated its constitutional 

7 charge while failing to conduct appropriate oversight and 

8 retain accountability for the content of the laws it passes. 

9 By requiring a vote in Congress, this Act will result in 

10 more carefully drafted and detailed legislation, an im11 proved regulatory process, and a legislative branch that 

12 is truly accountable to the American people for the laws 

13 imposed upon them. 

14 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE15 MAKING. 

16 Chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

17 to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘CHAPTER 8—CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW 

19 OF AGENCY RULEMAKING 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘801. Congressional review. 

‘‘802. Congressional approval procedure for major rules. 

‘‘803. Congressional disapproval procedure for nonmajor rules. 

‘‘804. Definitions. 

‘‘805. Judicial review. 

‘‘806. Affirmative defense. 

‘‘807. Private right of action. 

‘‘808. Exemption for monetary policy. 

‘‘809. Exemption for deregulatory actions. 

‘‘810. Effective date of certain rules. 

‘‘811. Regulatory planning and budget. 

‘‘812. Publication of guidance documents on the internet. 


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‘‘813. Expiration of rules. 

‘‘814. Review of rules in effect. 

1 ‘‘§ 801. Congressional review 

2 ‘‘(a)(1)(A) Before a rule may take effect, the Federal 

3 agency promulgating such rule shall publish in the Federal 

4 Register a list of information on which the rule is based, 

5 including data, scientific and economic studies, and cost6 benefit analyses, and identify how the public can access 

7 such information online, and shall submit to each House 

8 of the Congress and to the Comptroller General a report 

9 containing— 

10 ‘‘(i) a copy of the rule; 

11 ‘‘(ii) a concise general statement relating to the 

12 rule; 

13 ‘‘(iii) a classification of the rule as a major or 

14 nonmajor rule, including an explanation of the clas15 sification specifically addressing each criteria for a 

16 major rule contained within subparagraphs (A) 

17 through (C) of section 804(3); 

18 ‘‘(iv) a list of any other related regulatory ac19 tions intended to implement the same statutory pro20 vision or regulatory objective as well as the indi21 vidual and aggregate economic effects of those ac22 tions; and 

23 ‘‘(v) the proposed effective date of the rule. 


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1 ‘‘(B) On the date of the submission of the report 

2 under subparagraph (A), the Federal agency promulgating 

3 the rule shall submit to the Comptroller General and make 

4 available to each House of Congress— 

5 ‘‘(i) a complete copy of the cost-benefit analysis 

6 of the rule, if any, including an analysis of any jobs 

7 added or lost, differentiating between public and pri8 vate sector jobs; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the agency’s actions pursuant to sections 

10 603, 604, 605, 607, and 609 of this title; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the agency’s actions pursuant to sections 

12 202, 203, 204, and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates 

13 Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1532, 1533, 1534, 

14 1535); and 

15 ‘‘(iv) any other relevant information or require16 ments under any other Act and any relevant Execu17 tive orders. 

18 ‘‘(C) Upon receipt of a report submitted under sub19 paragraph (A), each House shall provide copies of the re20 port to the chairman and ranking member of each stand21 ing committee with jurisdiction under the rules of the 

22 House of Representatives or the Senate to report a bill 

23 to amend the provision of law under which the rule is 

24 issued. 


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1 ‘‘(2)(A) The Comptroller General shall provide a re2 port on each major rule to the committees of jurisdiction 

3 by the end of 15 calendar days after the submission or 

4 publication date. The report of the Comptroller General 

5 shall include an assessment of the agency’s compliance 

6 with procedural steps required by paragraph (1)(B) and 

7 an assessment of whether the major rule imposes any new 

8 limits or mandates on private-sector activity. 

9 ‘‘(B) Federal agencies shall cooperate with the Comp10 troller General by providing information relevant to the 

11 Comptroller General’s report under subparagraph (A). 

12 ‘‘(3) A major rule relating to a report submitted 

13 under paragraph (1) shall take effect upon enactment of 

14 a joint resolution of approval described in section 802 or 

15 as provided for in the rule following enactment of a joint 

16 resolution of approval described in section 802, whichever 

17 is later. 

18 ‘‘(4) A nonmajor rule shall take effect as provided 

19 by section 803 after submission to Congress under para20 graph (1). 

21 ‘‘(5) If a joint resolution of approval relating to a 

22 major rule is not enacted within the period provided in 

23 subsection (b)(2), then a joint resolution of approval relat24 ing to the same rule may not be considered under this 


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1 chapter in the same Congress by either the House of Rep2 resentatives or the Senate. 

3 ‘‘(b)(1) A major rule shall not take effect unless the 

4 Congress enacts a joint resolution of approval described 

5 under section 802. 

6 ‘‘(2) If a joint resolution described in subsection (a) 

7 is not enacted into law by the end of 70 session days or 

8 legislative days, as applicable, beginning on the date on 

9 which the report referred to in subsection (a)(1)(A) is re10 ceived by Congress (excluding days either House of Con11 gress is adjourned for more than 3 days during a session 

12 of Congress), then the rule described in that resolution 

13 shall be deemed not to be approved and such rule shall 

14 not take effect. 

15 ‘‘(c)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

16 section (except subject to paragraph (3)), a major rule 

17 may take effect for one 90-calendar-day period if the 

18 President makes a determination under paragraph (2) and 

19 submits written notice of such determination to the Con20 gress. 

21 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) applies to a determination made 

22 by the President by Executive order that the major rule 

23 should take effect because such rule is— 

24 ‘‘(A) necessary because of an imminent threat 

25 to health or safety or other emergency; 


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1 ‘‘(B) necessary for the enforcement of criminal 

2 laws; 

3 ‘‘(C) necessary for national security; or 

4 ‘‘(D) issued pursuant to any statute imple5 menting an international trade agreement. 

6 ‘‘(3) An exercise by the President of the authority 

7 under this subsection shall have no effect on the proce8 dures under section 802. 

9 ‘‘(d)(1) In addition to the opportunity for review oth10 erwise provided under this chapter, in the case of any rule 

11 for which a report was submitted in accordance with sub12 section (a)(1)(A) during the period beginning on the date 

13 occurring— 

14 ‘‘(A) in the case of the Senate, 60 session days; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(B) in the case of the House of Representa17 tives, 60 legislative days, 

18 before the date the Congress is scheduled to adjourn a 

19 session of Congress through the date on which the same 

20 or succeeding Congress first convenes its next session, sec21 tions 802 and 803 shall apply to such rule in the suc22 ceeding session of Congress. 

23 ‘‘(2)(A) In applying sections 802 and 803 for pur24 poses of such additional review, a rule described under 

25 paragraph (1) shall be treated as though— 


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1 ‘‘(i) such rule were published in the Federal 

2 Register on— 

3 ‘‘(I) in the case of the Senate, the 15th 

4 session day; or 

5 ‘‘(II) in the case of the House of Rep6 resentatives, the 15th legislative day, 

7 after the succeeding session of Congress first con8 venes; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) a report on such rule were submitted to 

10 Congress under subsection (a)(1) on such date. 

11 ‘‘(B) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed 

12 to affect the requirement under subsection (a)(1) that a 

13 report shall be submitted to Congress before a rule can 

14 take effect. 

15 ‘‘(3) A rule described under paragraph (1) shall take 

16 effect as otherwise provided by law (including other sub17 sections of this section). 

18 ‘‘§ 802. Congressional approval procedure for major 

19 rules 

20 ‘‘(a)(1) For purposes of this section, the term ‘joint 

21 resolution’ means only a joint resolution addressing a re22 port classifying a rule as major pursuant to section 

23 801(a)(1)(A)(iii) that— 

24 ‘‘(A) bears no preamble; 


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1 ‘‘(B) bears the following title (with blanks filled 

2 as appropriate): ‘Approving the rule submitted by 

3 lll relating to lll.’; 

4 ‘‘(C) includes after its resolving clause only the 

5 following (with blanks filled as appropriate): ‘That 

6 Congress approves the rule submitted by lll re7 lating to lll.’; and 

8 ‘‘(D) is introduced pursuant to paragraph (2). 

9 ‘‘(2) After a House of Congress receives a report 

10 classifying a rule as major pursuant to section 

11 801(a)(1)(A)(iii), the majority leader of that House (or 

12 his or her respective designee) shall introduce (by request, 

13 if appropriate) a joint resolution described in paragraph 

14 (1)— 

15 ‘‘(A) in the case of the House of Representa16 tives, within 3 legislative days; and 

17 ‘‘(B) in the case of the Senate, within 3 session 

18 days. 

19 ‘‘(3) A joint resolution described in paragraph (1) 

20 shall not be subject to amendment at any stage of pro21 ceeding. 

22 ‘‘(b) A joint resolution described in subsection (a) 

23 shall be referred in each House of Congress to the commit24 tees having jurisdiction over the provision of law under 

25 which the rule is issued. 


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1 ‘‘(c) In the Senate, if the committee or committees 

2 to which a joint resolution described in subsection (a) has 

3 been referred have not reported it at the end of 15 session 

4 days after its introduction, such committee or committees 

5 shall be automatically discharged from further consider6 ation of the resolution and it shall be placed on the cal7 endar. A vote on final passage of the resolution shall be 

8 taken on or before the close of the 15th session day after 

9 the resolution is reported by the committee or committees 

10 to which it was referred, or after such committee or com11 mittees have been discharged from further consideration 

12 of the resolution. 

13 ‘‘(d)(1) In the Senate, when the committee or com14 mittees to which a joint resolution is referred have re15 ported, or when a committee or committees are discharged 

16 (under subsection (c)) from further consideration of a 

17 joint resolution described in subsection (a), it is at any 

18 time thereafter in order (even though a previous motion 

19 to the same effect has been disagreed to) for a motion 

20 to proceed to the consideration of the joint resolution, and 

21 all points of order against the joint resolution (and against 

22 consideration of the joint resolution) are waived. The mo23 tion is not subject to amendment, or to a motion to post24 pone, or to a motion to proceed to the consideration of 

25 other business. A motion to reconsider the vote by which 


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1 the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in 

2 order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of the 

3 joint resolution is agreed to, the joint resolution shall re4 main the unfinished business of the Senate until disposed 

5 of. 

6 ‘‘(2) In the Senate, debate on the joint resolution, 

7 and on all debatable motions and appeals in connection 

8 therewith, shall be limited to not more than 2 hours, which 

9 shall be divided equally between those favoring and those 

10 opposing the joint resolution. A motion to further limit 

11 debate is in order and not debatable. An amendment to, 

12 or a motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the 

13 consideration of other business, or a motion to recommit 

14 the joint resolution is not in order. 

15 ‘‘(3) In the Senate, immediately following the conclu16 sion of the debate on a joint resolution described in sub17 section (a), and a single quorum call at the conclusion of 

18 the debate if requested in accordance with the rules of the 

19 Senate, the vote on final passage of the joint resolution 

20 shall occur. 

21 ‘‘(4) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating 

22 to the application of the rules of the Senate to the proce23 dure relating to a joint resolution described in subsection 

24 (a) shall be decided without debate. 


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1 ‘‘(e) In the House of Representatives, if any com2 mittee to which a joint resolution described in subsection 

3 (a) has been referred has not reported it to the House 

4 at the end of 15 legislative days after its introduction, 

5 such committee shall be discharged from further consider6 ation of the joint resolution, and it shall be placed on the 

7 appropriate calendar. On the second and fourth Thursdays 

8 of each month it shall be in order at any time for the 

9 Speaker to recognize a Member who favors passage of a 

10 joint resolution that has appeared on the calendar for at 

11 least 5 legislative days to call up that joint resolution for 

12 immediate consideration in the House without intervention 

13 of any point of order. When so called up a joint resolution 

14 shall be considered as read and shall be debatable for 1 

15 hour equally divided and controlled by the proponent and 

16 an opponent, and the previous question shall be considered 

17 as ordered to its passage without intervening motion. It 

18 shall not be in order to reconsider the vote on passage. 

19 If a vote on final passage of the joint resolution has not 

20 been taken by the third Thursday on which the Speaker 

21 may recognize a Member under this subsection, such vote 

22 shall be taken on that day. 

23 ‘‘(f)(1) If, before passing a joint resolution described 

24 in subsection (a), one House receives from the other a 

25 joint resolution having the same text, then— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the joint resolution of the other House 

2 shall not be referred to a committee; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the procedure in the receiving House shall 

4 be the same as if no joint resolution had been re5 ceived from the other House until the vote on pas6 sage, when the joint resolution received from the 

7 other House shall supplant the joint resolution of 

8 the receiving House. 

9 ‘‘(2) This subsection shall not apply to the House of 

10 Representatives if the joint resolution received from the 

11 Senate is a revenue measure. 

12 ‘‘(g) If either House has not taken a vote on final 

13 passage of the joint resolution by the last day of the period 

14 described in section 801(b)(2), then such vote shall be 

15 taken on that day. 

16 ‘‘(h) This section and section 803 are enacted by 

17 Congress— 

18 ‘‘(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

19 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec20 tively, and as such are deemed to be part of the 

21 rules of each House, respectively, but applicable only 

22 with respect to the procedure to be followed in that 

23 House in the case of a joint resolution described in 

24 subsection (a) and superseding other rules only 

25 where explicitly so; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

2 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 

3 they relate to the procedure of that House) at any 

4 time, in the same manner and to the same extent as 

5 in the case of any other rule of that House. 

6 ‘‘§ 803. Congressional disapproval procedure for 

7 nonmajor rules 

8 ‘‘(a) For purposes of this section, the term ‘joint res9 olution’ means only a joint resolution introduced in the 

10 period beginning on the date on which the report referred 

11 to in section 801(a)(1)(A) is received by Congress and 

12 ending 60 days thereafter (excluding days either House 

13 of Congress is adjourned for more than 3 days during a 

14 session of Congress), the matter after the resolving clause 

15 of which is as follows: ‘That Congress disapproves the 

16 nonmajor rule submitted by the lll relating to 

17 lll, and such rule shall have no force or effect.’ (The 

18 blank spaces being appropriately filled in). 

19 ‘‘(b) A joint resolution described in subsection (a) 

20 shall be referred to the committees in each House of Con21 gress with jurisdiction. 

22 ‘‘(c) In the Senate, if the committee to which is re23 ferred a joint resolution described in subsection (a) has 

24 not reported such joint resolution (or an identical joint 

25 resolution) at the end of 15 session days after the date 


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1 of introduction of the joint resolution, such committee may 

2 be discharged from further consideration of such joint res3 olution upon a petition supported in writing by 30 Mem4 bers of the Senate, and such joint resolution shall be 

5 placed on the calendar. 

6 ‘‘(d)(1) In the Senate, when the committee to which 

7 a joint resolution is referred has reported, or when a com8 mittee is discharged (under subsection (c)) from further 

9 consideration of a joint resolution described in subsection 

10 (a), it is at any time thereafter in order (even though a 

11 previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) 

12 for a motion to proceed to the consideration of the joint 

13 resolution, and all points of order against the joint resolu14 tion (and against consideration of the joint resolution) are 

15 waived. The motion is not subject to amendment, or to 

16 a motion to postpone, or to a motion to proceed to the 

17 consideration of other business. A motion to reconsider the 

18 vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall 

19 not be in order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration 

20 of the joint resolution is agreed to, the joint resolution 

21 shall remain the unfinished business of the Senate until 

22 disposed of. 

23 ‘‘(2) In the Senate, debate on the joint resolution, 

24 and on all debatable motions and appeals in connection 

25 therewith, shall be limited to not more than 10 hours, 


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1 which shall be divided equally between those favoring and 

2 those opposing the joint resolution. A motion to further 

3 limit debate is in order and not debatable. An amendment 

4 to, or a motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to 

5 the consideration of other business, or a motion to recom6 mit the joint resolution is not in order. 

7 ‘‘(3) In the Senate, immediately following the conclu8 sion of the debate on a joint resolution described in sub9 section (a), and a single quorum call at the conclusion of 

10 the debate if requested in accordance with the rules of the 

11 Senate, the vote on final passage of the joint resolution 

12 shall occur. 

13 ‘‘(4) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating 

14 to the application of the rules of the Senate to the proce15 dure relating to a joint resolution described in subsection 

16 (a) shall be decided without debate. 

17 ‘‘(e) In the Senate, the procedure specified in sub18 section (c) or (d) shall not apply to the consideration of 

19 a joint resolution respecting a nonmajor rule— 

20 ‘‘(1) after the expiration of the 60 session days 

21 beginning with the applicable submission or publica22 tion date; or 

23 ‘‘(2) if the report under section 801(a)(1)(A) 

24 was submitted during the period referred to in sec25 tion 801(d)(1), after the expiration of the 60 session 


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1 days beginning on the 15th session day after the 

2 succeeding session of Congress first convenes. 

3 ‘‘(f) If, before the passage by one House of a joint 

4 resolution of that House described in subsection (a), that 

5 House receives from the other House a joint resolution 

6 described in subsection (a), then the following procedures 

7 shall apply: 

8 ‘‘(1) The joint resolution of the other House 

9 shall not be referred to a committee. 

10 ‘‘(2) With respect to a joint resolution described 

11 in subsection (a) of the House receiving the joint 

12 resolution— 

13 ‘‘(A) the procedure in that House shall be 

14 the same as if no joint resolution had been re15 ceived from the other House; but 

16 ‘‘(B) the vote on final passage shall be on 

17 the joint resolution of the other House. 

18 ‘‘§ 804. Definitions 

19 ‘‘For purposes of this chapter: 

20 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Federal agency’ means any 

21 agency as that term is defined in section 551(1). 

22 ‘‘(2) The term ‘guidance document’ means a 

23 statement of general applicability and future effect, 

24 other than a regulatory action, issued by a Federal 

25 agency that sets forth— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a policy on a statutory, regulatory, or 

2 technical issue; or 

3 ‘‘(B) an interpretation of a statutory or 

4 regulatory issue. 

5 ‘‘(3) The term ‘major rule’— 

6 ‘‘(A) means any rule, including an interim 

7 final rule, that the Administrator of the Office 

8 of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the 

9 Office of Management and Budget finds has re10 sulted in or is likely to result in— 

11 ‘‘(i) an annual effect on the economy 

12 of $100 million or more; 

13 ‘‘(ii) a major increase in costs or 

14 prices for consumers, individual industries, 

15 Federal, State, or local government agen16 cies, or geographic regions; or 

17 ‘‘(iii) significant adverse effects on 

18 competition, employment, investment, pro19 ductivity, innovation, or the ability of 

20 United States-based enterprises to compete 

21 with foreign-based enterprises in domestic 

22 and export markets; 

23 ‘‘(B) includes any significant guidance doc24 ument; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) does not include any rule promul2 gated under the Telecommunications Act of 

3 1996 (Public Law 104–104; 110 Stat. 56) or 

4 the amendments made by that Act. 

5 ‘‘(4) The term ‘nonmajor rule’ means any rule 

6 that is not a major rule. 

7 ‘‘(5) The term ‘rule’— 

8 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given such term in 

9 section 551, except that such term does not in10 clude— 

11 ‘‘(i) any rule of particular applica12 bility, including a rule that approves or 

13 prescribes for the future rates, wages, 

14 prices, services, or allowances therefore, 

15 corporate or financial structures, reorga16 nizations, mergers, or acquisitions thereof, 

17 or accounting practices or disclosures bear18 ing on any of the foregoing; 

19 ‘‘(ii) any rule relating to agency man20 agement or personnel; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) any rule of agency organization, 

22 procedure, or practice that does not sub23 stantially affect the rights or obligations of 

24 non-agency parties; and 

25 ‘‘(B) includes any guidance document. 


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1 ‘‘(6) The term ‘significant guidance docu2 ment’— 

3 ‘‘(A) means a guidance document dissemi4 nated to regulated entities or the general public 

5 that may reasonably be anticipated to— 

6 ‘‘(i) lead to an annual effect of 

7 $100,000,000 or more, or adversely affect 

8 in a material way the economy, a sector of 

9 the economy, productivity, competition, 

10 employment, the environment, public 

11 health or safety, or State, local, or Tribal 

12 governments or communities; 

13 ‘‘(ii) create a serious inconsistency, or 

14 otherwise interfere, with an action taken or 

15 planned by another agency; 

16 ‘‘(iii) materially alter the budgetary 

17 impact of any entitlement, grant, user fees, 

18 or loan programs, or the rights or obliga19 tions of recipients thereof; or 

20 ‘‘(iv) raise novel legal or policy issues 

21 arising out of legal mandates; and 

22 ‘‘(B) does not include any guidance docu23 ment— 

24 ‘‘(i) on regulations issued in accord25 ance with section 556 or 557 of this title; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) that pertains to a military or for2 eign affairs function of the United States, 

3 other than procurement regulations and 

4 regulations involving the import or export 

5 of non-defense articles and services; 

6 ‘‘(iii) on regulations that are limited 

7 to the organization, management, or per8 sonnel matters of a Federal agency; or 

9 ‘‘(iv) belonging to a category of guid10 ance documents exempted by the Adminis11 trator of the Office of Information and 

12 Regulatory Affairs. 

13 ‘‘(7) The term ‘submission or publication date’, 

14 except as otherwise provided in this chapter, 

15 means— 

16 ‘‘(A) in the case of a major rule, the date 

17 on which the Congress receives the report sub18 mitted under section 801(a)(1); and 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of a nonmajor rule, the 

20 later of— 

21 ‘‘(i) the date on which the Congress 

22 receives the report submitted under section 

23 801(a)(1); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the nonmajor 

2 rule is published in the Federal Register, if 

3 so published. 

4 ‘‘§ 805. Judicial review 

5 ‘‘(a) No determination, finding, action, or omission 

6 under this chapter shall be subject to judicial review. 

7 ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a court may de8 termine whether a Federal agency has completed the nec9 essary requirements under this chapter for a rule to take 

10 effect. 

11 ‘‘(c) The enactment of a joint resolution of approval 

12 under section 802 shall not be interpreted to serve as a 

13 grant or modification of statutory authority by Congress 

14 for the promulgation of a rule, shall not extinguish or af15 fect any claim, whether substantive or procedural, against 

16 any alleged defect in a rule, and shall not form part of 

17 the record before the court in any judicial proceeding con18 cerning a rule except for purposes of determining whether 

19 or not the rule is in effect. 

20 ‘‘§ 806. Affirmative defense 

21 ‘‘It shall be an affirmative defense against an alleged 

22 violation of a rule for a defendant in any administrative 

23 proceeding of a Federal agency, or before a court of the 

24 United States, if an individual of ordinary intelligence 

25 could not anticipate from the statutory language of a proVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:42 Sep 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5082.IS S5082

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1 vision of law purported to form the basis for the rule in 

2 question that the conduct of the individual would be un3 lawful. 

4 ‘‘§ 807. Private right of action 

5 ‘‘(a) A person aggrieved by the failure of a Federal 

6 agency to comply with the requirements under this chapter 

7 may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court 

8 of the United States for injunctive relief before the date 

9 on which the final rule in question takes effect. 

10 ‘‘(b)(1) A person that can demonstrate potential in11 jury from a final rule before or after the final rule takes 

12 effect may bring a civil action in an appropriate district 

13 court of the United States to challenge the determination 

14 of the Federal agency that the rule is not a major rule 

15 under section 801(a)(1)(A)(iii). 

16 ‘‘(2) In a civil action brought under paragraph (1), 

17 the court may— 

18 ‘‘(A) invalidate the final rule in question; or 

19 ‘‘(B) determine that the final rule in question 

20 is a major rule and require the Federal agency to 

21 comply with the requirements under this chapter ap22 plicable to major rules, including congressional ap23 proval under section 802. 


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1 ‘‘§ 808. Exemption for monetary policy 

2 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall apply to rules that con3 cern monetary policy proposed or implemented by the 

4 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the 

5 Federal Open Market Committee. 

6 ‘‘§ 809. Exemption for deregulatory actions 

7 ‘‘Sections 802 and 803 shall not apply to a rule iden8 tified as a deregulatory action in the Unified Agenda and 

9 Annual Regulatory Plan under section 811. 

10 ‘‘§ 810. Effective date of certain rules 

11 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 801— 

12 ‘‘(1) any rule that establishes, modifies, opens, 

13 closes, or conducts a regulatory program for a com14 mercial, recreational, or subsistence activity related 

15 to hunting, fishing, or camping; or 

16 ‘‘(2) any rule other than a major rule which a 

17 Federal agency for good cause finds (and incor18 porates the finding and a brief statement of reasons 

19 therefore in the rule issued) that notice and public 

20 procedure thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or 

21 contrary to the public interest, 

22 shall take effect at such time as the Federal agency pro23 mulgating the rule determines. 

24 ‘‘§ 811. Regulatory planning and budget 

25 ‘‘(a) In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘costs’ means opportunity cost to 

2 society. 

3 ‘‘(2) The term ‘cost savings’ means the cost im4 posed by a regulatory action that is eliminated by 

5 the repeal, replacement, or modification of such reg6 ulatory action. 

7 ‘‘(3) The term ‘deregulatory action’ means the 

8 repeal, replacement, or modification of an existing 

9 regulatory action. 

10 ‘‘(4) The term ‘Director’ means the Director of 

11 the Office of Management and Budget. 

12 ‘‘(5) The term ‘incremental regulatory cost’ 

13 means the difference between the estimated cost of 

14 issuing a significant regulatory action and the esti15 mated cost saved by issuing any deregulatory action. 

16 ‘‘(6) The term ‘regulation’ or ‘rule’ has the 

17 meaning given the term ‘rule’ in section 804. 

18 ‘‘(7) The term ‘regulatory action’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) any regulation; and 

20 ‘‘(B) any other regulatory guidance, state21 ment of policy, information collection request, 

22 form, or reporting, recordkeeping, or disclosure 

23 requirements that imposes a burden on the pub24 lic or governs Federal agency operations. 


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1 ‘‘(8) The term ‘significant regulatory action’ 

2 means any regulatory action, other than monetary 

3 policy proposed or implemented by the Board of 

4 Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the 

5 Federal Open Market Committee, that is likely to— 

6 ‘‘(A) have an annual effect on the economy 

7 of $100,000,000 or more or adversely affect in 

8 a material way the economy, a sector of the 

9 economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the 

10 environment, public health or safety, or State, 

11 local, or Tribal governments or communities; 

12 ‘‘(B) create a serious inconsistency or oth13 erwise interfere with an action taken or planned 

14 by another Federal agency; 

15 ‘‘(C) materially alter the budgetary impact 

16 of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan pro17 grams or the rights and obligations of recipi18 ents thereof; or 

19 ‘‘(D) raise a novel legal or policy issue. 

20 ‘‘(9) The term ‘State’ means each of the several 

21 States, the District of Columbia, and each territory 

22 or possession of the United States. 

23 ‘‘(b)(1) During the months of April and October of 

24 each year, the Director shall publish a unified regulatory 

25 agenda, which shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(A) regulatory and deregulatory actions under 

2 development or review at agencies; 

3 ‘‘(B) a Federal regulatory plan of all significant 

4 regulatory actions and associated deregulatory ac5 tions that agencies reasonably expect to issue in pro6 posed or final form in the current and following fis7 cal year; and 

8 ‘‘(C) all information required to be included in 

9 the regulatory flexibility agenda under section 602 of 

10 this title. 

11 ‘‘(2) In accordance with guidance issued by the Di12 rector and not less than 60 days before each date of publi13 cation for the unified regulatory agenda under paragraph 

14 (1), the head of each Federal agency shall submit to the 

15 Director an agenda of all regulatory actions and deregula16 tory actions under development at the Federal agency, in17 cluding the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) For each regulatory action and deregula19 tory action: 

20 ‘‘(i) A regulation identifier number. 

21 ‘‘(ii) A brief summary of the action. 

22 ‘‘(iii) The legal authority for the action. 

23 ‘‘(iv) Any legal deadline for the action. 

24 ‘‘(v) The name and contact information for 

25 a knowledgeable Federal agency official. 


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1 ‘‘(vi) Any other information as required by 

2 the Director. 

3 ‘‘(B) An annual regulatory plan, which shall in4 clude a list of each significant regulatory action the 

5 Federal agency reasonably expects to issue in pro6 posed or final form in the current and following fis7 cal year, including for each significant regulatory ac8 tion: 

9 ‘‘(i) A summary, including the following: 

10 ‘‘(I) A statement of the regulatory ob11 jectives. 

12 ‘‘(II) The legal authority for the ac13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(III) A statement of the need for the 

15 action. 

16 ‘‘(IV) The Federal agency’s schedule 

17 for the action. 

18 ‘‘(ii) The estimated cost. 

19 ‘‘(iii) The estimated benefits. 

20 ‘‘(iv) Any deregulatory action identified. 

21 ‘‘(v) A best approximation of the total cost 

22 or savings and any cost or savings associated 

23 with a deregulatory action. 

24 ‘‘(vi) An estimate of the economic effects, 

25 including any estimate of the net effect that 


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1 such action will have on the number of jobs in 

2 the United States, that was considered in draft3 ing the action, or, if such estimate is not avail4 able, a statement affirming that no information 

5 on the economic effects, including the effect on 

6 the number of jobs, of the action has been con7 sidered. 

8 ‘‘(C) Information required under section 602 of 

9 this title. 

10 ‘‘(D) Information required under any other law 

11 to be reported by agencies about significant regu12 latory actions, as determined by the Director. 

13 ‘‘(c)(1) In the April unified regulatory agenda de14 scribed in subsection (b), the Director— 

15 ‘‘(A) shall establish the annual Federal Regu16 latory Budget, which specifies the net amount of in17 cremental regulatory costs allowed by the Federal 

18 Government and at each Federal agency for the next 

19 fiscal year; and 

20 ‘‘(B) may set the incremental regulatory cost 

21 allowance to allow an increase, prohibit an increase, 

22 or require a decrease of incremental regulatory 

23 costs. 


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1 ‘‘(2) If the Director does not set a net amount of 

2 incremental regulatory costs allowed for a Federal agency, 

3 the net incremental regulatory cost allowed shall be zero. 

4 ‘‘(d) Except as otherwise required by law, a signifi5 cant regulatory action shall have no effect unless— 

6 ‘‘(1) the— 

7 ‘‘(A) head of the Federal agency identifies 

8 at least 1 deregulatory action to offset the costs 

9 of the significant regulatory action and issues 

10 the deregulatory action before or on the same 

11 schedule as the significant regulatory action; 

12 ‘‘(B) incremental costs of the significant 

13 regulatory action as offset by any deregulatory 

14 action issued before or on the same schedule as 

15 the significant regulatory action do not cause 

16 the Federal agency to exceed or contribute to 

17 the Federal agency exceeding the incremental 

18 regulatory cost allowance of the Federal agency 

19 for that fiscal year; and 

20 ‘‘(C) significant regulatory action was in21 cluded on the most recent version or update of 

22 the published unified regulatory agenda; or 

23 ‘‘(2) the issuance of the significant regulatory 

24 action was approved in advance in writing by the Di25 rector and the written approval is publicly available 


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1 online prior to the issuance of the significant regu2 latory action. 

3 ‘‘(e)(1) Not later than 90 days after the date of the 

4 enactment of this section, the Director shall establish and 

5 issue guidance on how agencies should comply with the 

6 requirements of this section. Such guidance shall include 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) A process for standardizing the measure9 ment and estimation of regulatory costs, including 

10 cost savings associated with deregulatory actions. 

11 ‘‘(B) Standards for determining what qualifies 

12 as a deregulatory action. 

13 ‘‘(C) Standards for determining the costs of ex14 isting regulatory actions that are considered for re15 peal, replacement, or modification. 

16 ‘‘(D) Standards by which the Director will de17 termine whether a regulatory action or a collection 

18 of regulatory actions qualifies as a significant regu19 latory action. 

20 ‘‘(2) The Director shall update the guidance issued 

21 pursuant to this subsection as necessary. 

22 ‘‘§ 812. Publication of guidance documents on the 

23 internet 

24 ‘‘(a) In this section, the term ‘Director’ means the 

25 Director of the Office of Management and Budget. 


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1 ‘‘(b) Subject to subsection (e), on the date on which 

2 a Federal agency issues a guidance document, the Federal 

3 agency shall publish the guidance document in accordance 

4 with the requirements under subsection (d). 

5 ‘‘(c) Subject to subsection (e), not later than 180 

6 days after the date of enactment of this section, each Fed7 eral agency shall publish, in accordance with the require8 ments under subsection (c), any guidance document issued 

9 by that Federal agency that is in effect on that date. 

10 ‘‘(d)(1) All guidance documents published under sub11 sections (b) and (c) by a Federal agency shall be published 

12 in a single location on an internet website designated by 

13 the Director under paragraph (4). 

14 ‘‘(2) Each Federal agency shall, for guidance docu15 ments published by the Federal agency under subsections 

16 (b) and (c), publish a hyperlink on the internet website 

17 of the Federal agency that provides access to the guidance 

18 documents at the location described in paragraph (1). 

19 ‘‘(3)(A) The guidance documents described in para20 graph (1) shall be— 

21 ‘‘(i) categorized as guidance documents; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) further divided into subcategories as ap23 propriate. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The hyperlinks described in paragraph (2) shall 

2 be prominently displayed on the internet website of the 

3 Federal agency. 

4 ‘‘(4) Not later than 90 days after the date of enact5 ment of this section, the Director shall designate an inter6 net website on which guidance documents shall be pub7 lished under subsections (b) and (c). 

8 ‘‘(e) If a guidance document issued by a Federal 

9 agency is a document that is exempt from disclosure under 

10 section 552(b) of this title (commonly known as the ‘Free11 dom of Information Act’), or contains information that is 

12 exempt from disclosure under that section, that document 

13 or information, as the case may be, shall not be subject 

14 to the requirements under this section. 

15 ‘‘(f) On the date on which a guidance document 

16 issued by a Federal agency is rescinded, or, in the case 

17 of a guidance document that is rescinded pursuant to a 

18 court order, not later than the date on which the order 

19 is entered, the Federal agency shall, at the location de20 scribed in subsection (d)(1)— 

21 ‘‘(1) maintain the rescinded guidance docu22 ment; and 

23 ‘‘(2) indicate— 

24 ‘‘(A) that the guidance document is re25 scinded; 


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1 ‘‘(B) if the guidance document was re2 scinded pursuant to a court order, the case 

3 number of the case in which the order was en4 tered; and 

5 ‘‘(C) the date on which the guidance docu6 ment was rescinded. 

7 ‘‘§ 813. Expiration of rules 

8 ‘‘(a)(1) Except as provided in this section, each major 

9 rule made by a Federal agency shall cease to have effect— 

10 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date that is 10 years 

11 after the date of enactment of a joint resolution de12 scribed in subsection (d) with regard to the rule; or 

13 ‘‘(B) if a joint resolution of extension described 

14 in subsection (d) has been enacted with regard to 

15 the rule, beginning on the date that is 10 years after 

16 the date of enactment of the most recently enacted 

17 such joint resolution. 

18 ‘‘(2) The rule may not be reissued in substantially 

19 the same form, and a new rule that is substantially the 

20 same as such a rule may not be issued, unless the reissued 

21 or new rule is specifically authorized by a law enacted 

22 after the date described in this subsection (a). 

23 ‘‘(b) Not later than 180 days before the date de24 scribed in subsection (a), the Federal agency shall submit 

25 a report similar to the report described in 801(a)(1)(A) 


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1 to each House of Congress and to the Comptroller Gen2 eral, except that instead of the proposed effective date, 

3 such report shall contain the date described in subsection 

4 (a). 

5 ‘‘(c) The President may by Executive order exempt 

6 not more than 1 rule during each Congress from the appli7 cation of subsection (a) for a period of not more than 30 

8 days if the President determines, and submits to Congress 

9 written notice of such determination, that such rule is— 

10 ‘‘(1) necessary because of an imminent threat 

11 to health or safety or other emergency; 

12 ‘‘(2) necessary for the enforcement of criminal 

13 laws; 

14 ‘‘(3) necessary for national security; or 

15 ‘‘(4) issued pursuant to any statute imple16 menting an international trade agreement. 

17 ‘‘(d)(1) For purposes of this section, the term ‘joint 

18 resolution’ means only a joint resolution introduced on or 

19 after the date on which the report referred to subsection 

20 (b) is received by Congress (excluding days either House 

21 of Congress is adjourned for more than 3 days during a 

22 session of Congress), the matter after the resolving clause 

23 of which is as follows: ‘‘That Congress extends the rule 

24 submitted by the ll relating to ll.’’ (The blank 


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1 spaces being appropriately filled in). The following shall 

2 apply to such a joint resolution: 

3 ‘‘(A) In the House, the majority leader of the 

4 House of Representatives (or his designee) and the 

5 minority leader of the House of Representatives (or 

6 his designee) shall introduce such joint resolution 

7 (by request), within 3 legislative days after Congress 

8 receives the report submitted under subsection (b). 

9 ‘‘(B) In the Senate, the majority leader of the 

10 Senate (or his designee) and the minority leader of 

11 the Senate (or his designee) shall introduce such 

12 joint resolution described in subsection (a) (by re13 quest), within 3 session days after Congress receives 

14 the report submitted under subsection (b). 

15 ‘‘(2) Subsections (b) through (g) of section 802 shall 

16 apply to a joint resolution described in paragraph (1) of 

17 this subsection in the same manner as a joint resolution 

18 described in subsection (a) of section 802, except that for 

19 purposes of that subsection, the term ‘submission date’ 

20 means the date on which the Congress receives the report 

21 submitted under subsection (b). 

22 ‘‘§ 814. Review of rules in effect 

23 ‘‘(a) Beginning on the date that is 6 months after 

24 the date of enactment of this section and annually there25 after for the 9 years following, each Federal agency shall 


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1 designate not less than 10 percent of eligible rules made 

2 by that Federal agency for review, and shall submit a re3 port including each such eligible rule in the same manner 

4 as a report under section 801(a)(1). Section 801 and sec5 tion 802 shall apply to each such rule, subject to sub6 section (c) of this section. No eligible rule previously des7 ignated may be designated again. 

8 ‘‘(b) Beginning after the date that is 10 years after 

9 the date of enactment of this section, if Congress has not 

10 enacted a joint resolution of approval for that eligible rule, 

11 that eligible rule shall not continue in effect. 

12 ‘‘(c) In applying sections 801 and 802 to eligible rules 

13 under this section, the following shall apply: 

14 ‘‘(1) The words ‘take effect’ shall be read as 

15 ‘continue in effect’. 

16 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), a 

17 single joint resolution of approval shall apply to all 

18 eligible rules in a report designated for a year, and 

19 the matter after the resolving clause of that joint 

20 resolution is as follows: ‘‘That Congress approves 

21 the rules submitted by the ll for the year ll.’’ 

22 (The blank spaces being appropriately filled in). 

23 ‘‘(3) It shall be in order to consider any amend24 ment that provides for specific conditions on which 


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1 the approval of a particular eligible rule included in 

2 the joint resolution is contingent. 

3 ‘‘(4) A Member of either House may move that 

4 a separate joint resolution be required for a specified 

5 rule. 

6 ‘‘(d) In this section, the term ‘eligible rule’ means a 

7 major rule that is in effect as of the date of enactment 

8 of this section.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF RULES SUBJECT TO SEC10 TION 802 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE. 

11 Section 257(b)(2) of the Balanced Budget and Emer12 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 907(b)(2)) 

13 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub14 paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(E) BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF RULES

16 SUBJECT TO SECTION 802 OF TITLE 5, UNITED

17 STATES CODE.—Any rule subject to the con18 gressional approval procedure set forth in sec19 tion 802 of title 5, United States Code, affect20 ing budget authority, outlays, or receipts shall 

21 be assumed to be effective unless it is not ap22 proved in accordance with such section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY OF 

2 RULES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

4 United States shall conduct a study to determine, as of 

5 the date of enactment of this Act— 

6 (1) how many rules (as such term is defined in 

7 section 804 of title 5, United States Code) were in 

8 effect; 

9 (2) how many major rules (as such term is de10 fined in section 804 of title 5, United States Code) 

11 were in effect; and 

12 (3) the total estimated economic cost imposed 

13 by all such rules. 

14 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 

16 the United States shall submit a report to Congress that 

17 contains the findings of the study conducted under sub18 section (a). 

19 SEC. 6. DEFINITION OF ‘‘RULE’’ TO INCLUDE SIGNIFICANT 

20 GUIDANCE. 

21 Section 551(4) of title 5, United States Code, is 

22 amended by inserting before the semicolon at the end the 

23 following: ‘‘, as well as significant guidance (as such term 

24 is defined in section 804).’’. 

Æ 


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