II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4749 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to require disclosure of conflicts 

of interest with respect to rulemaking, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2024 

Ms. WARREN (for herself, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MERKLEY, 

Ms. HIRONO, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. WYDEN, 

Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to require disclosure 

of conflicts of interest with respect to rulemaking, and 

for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Corporate Cap5 ture Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 4749 IS

1 (1) Congress is dependent on providing discre2 tion to executive officials and agencies (including 

3 independent agencies) to implement its statutes. 

4 Congress provides appropriate oversight of the use 

5 of this discretion. 

6 (2) Regulatory legislation is often phrased in 

7 broad terms, with an intelligible principle, to em8 power agencies to address issues, such as those pre9 sented by technological, scientific, or social develop10 ments that were not precisely foreseen when the leg11 islation was enacted, and to draw upon the agency’s 

12 specialized knowledge, experience, and responsibility 

13 for implementing the statute. 

14 (3) Such broad authorizing language is often 

15 necessary to empower the administering agency to 

16 take effective action when new or unforeseen issues 

17 arise, provided that the rule does not exceed clear 

18 limits in statute nor implement it in an impermis19 sible manner. 

20 (4) A rule that an agency has adopted to imple21 ment a broadly worded regulatory statute should 

22 generally not be held to be invalid on the basis that 

23 Congress has not addressed the agency’s proposed 

24 course of action in specific terms. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 4749 IS

1 (5) A rule that an agency has adopted to imple2 ment a regulatory statute should generally not be 

3 held to be invalid on the basis that the agency has 

4 not previously adopted a similar rule or scheme of 

5 regulation. 

6 (6) The expectation that a rule will have broad 

7 economic, political, or social significance, should not, 

8 standing alone, negate application of the principle 

9 stated in paragraph (1), (2), or (3). 

10 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

11 It is the sense of Congress that— 

12 (1) agency economic analyses of regulatory ac13 tions commonly underestimate the benefits of regu14 latory actions that protect public health and safety 

15 and overestimate the costs of regulatory action to in16 dustry; 

17 (2) agency regulatory actions often fail to ade18 quately consider the distributional effects and social 

19 equity impact of regulatory action; and 

20 (3) an agency shall prioritize the statutory di21 rection of Congress when taking regulatory action. 

22 SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. 

23 Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, is amend24 ed— 

25 (1) in subsection (c)— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 4749 IS

1 (A) by striking ‘‘After notice required’’ and 

2 inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) After notice required’’; and 

4 (B) in the first sentence of paragraph (1), 

5 as so designated, by inserting ‘‘, subject to sub6 sections (f) and (h),’’ after ‘‘the agency shall’’; 

7 and 

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

9 ‘‘(2) In the case of any submission under para10 graph (1) by an interested person that includes a 

11 scientific, economic, or technical study or research 

12 (or a citation thereto) that the interested person 

13 funded directly or indirectly, or the nonpublic results 

14 of any scientific, economic, or technical study or re15 search that the interested person funded directly or 

16 indirectly, the interested person shall disclose to the 

17 agency the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) The amount of any funds that were 

19 received by the person who conducted the study 

20 or research. 

21 ‘‘(B) The entity that provided the funds 

22 referred to in subparagraph (A). 

23 ‘‘(C) Any entity that was allowed to review 

24 or revise the study or research, and the extent 

25 of that review or revision. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 4749 IS

1 ‘‘(D) Any financial relationship between 

2 the person who conducted the study or re3 search, and any person that would be affected 

4 by the proposed rule.’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(f) With respect to any submission by an interested 

7 person under subsection (c) or any other submission by 

8 an interested person relating to a proposed rule or final 

9 rule that includes a scientific, economic, or technical study 

10 or research by the interested person not published in a 

11 publicly available peer-reviewed publication, or any result 

12 of a scientific, economic, or technical study or research 

13 by the interested person not published in a publicly avail14 able peer-reviewed publication, the interested person, in 

15 making that submission, shall disclose to the agency— 

16 ‘‘(1) the source of any funding for the study or 

17 research, as applicable; 

18 ‘‘(2) any entity that sponsored the study or re19 search; 

20 ‘‘(3) the extent to which the findings of the 

21 study or research were reviewed by a person that 

22 may be affected by the rule making to which the 

23 submission relates; 

24 ‘‘(4) the identity of any person identified under 

25 paragraph (3); and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 4749 IS

1 ‘‘(5) the nature of any financial relationship, in2 cluding a consulting agreement, the support of any 

3 expert witness, and the funding of research, between 

4 any person that conducted the study or research and 

5 any interested person with respect to the rule mak6 ing to which the submission relates.’’. 

7 SEC. 5. INCREASING DISCLOSURES RELATING TO STUDIES 

8 AND RESEARCH. 

9 Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, as amend10 ed by section 4 of this Act, is amended by adding at the 

11 end the following: 

12 ‘‘(g) With respect to a study or research that is sub13 mitted by an interested person to an agency under sub14 section (c), the agency shall ensure that the study or re15 search is available to the public (including on the internet 

16 website of the agency and on the public docket of the agen17 cy for the rule making) unless disclosure is exempted or 

18 excluded under section 552. 

19 ‘‘(h)(1) If a study or research submitted by an inter20 ested person to an agency under subsection (c) presents 

21 a conflict described in paragraph (2), the agency shall dis22 close the conflict to the public on the internet website of 

23 the agency and on the public docket of the agency, and 

24 by publication in the Federal Register, unless disclosure 

25 is exempted or excluded under section 552. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•S 4749 IS

1 ‘‘(2) A conflict described in this subsection means a 

2 study or research for which— 

3 ‘‘(A) not less than 10 percent of the funding for 

4 the study or research is from an entity subject to 

5 the jurisdiction of the agency with respect to that 

6 rule making; or 

7 ‘‘(B) an entity subject to the jurisdiction of the 

8 agency with respect to that rule making that is regu9 lated by the agency exercises editorial control over 

10 the study or research. 

11 ‘‘(i) In the case of a violation of the requirement to 

12 make a disclosure— 

13 ‘‘(1) under subsection (c)(2) or subsection (f) 

14 with respect to a submission; or 

15 ‘‘(2) under subsection (h) with respect to a con16 flict related to a submission referred to under sub17 section (g), 

18 the agency may exclude from consideration or otherwise 

19 disregard the submission, and the agency has no obliga20 tion to respond to the submission, except that the submis21 sion may be remade with required disclosures during the 

22 opportunity for participation referred to in subsection 

23 (c)(1). Nothing in this subsection may be construed to af24 fect the level of deference (in accordance with applicable 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•S 4749 IS

1 law) accorded to agency action by a court reviewing such 

2 action.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. DISCLOSURE OF INTER-GOVERNMENTAL RULE 

4 CHANGE. 

5 With respect to any material provided to the Office 

6 with regard to a regulatory action for purposes of central7 ized review of regulatory actions, the agency shall— 

8 (1) not later than the date on which the agency 

9 publishes a general notice of proposed rulemaking 

10 required under section 553(b) of title 5, United 

11 States Code, with respect to the action, place in the 

12 rulemaking docket— 

13 (A) the substance of any change between 

14 the text of any draft regulatory action that the 

15 agency provided to the Office and the text pub16 lished in the general notice with respect to the 

17 action; and 

18 (B) a statement regarding whether any 

19 change described in subparagraph (A) was 

20 made as a result of communication with— 

21 (i) the Office; 

22 (ii) another agency; or 

23 (iii) any other Federal official; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•S 4749 IS

1 (2) not later than the date on which the agency 

2 publishes the regulatory action in the Federal Reg3 ister, place in the rulemaking docket— 

4 (A) the substance of any changes between 

5 the text of the regulatory action that the agency 

6 provided to the Office and the text of the regu7 latory action that the agency published in the 

8 Federal Register; and 

9 (B) a statement regarding whether any 

10 change described in subparagraph (A) was 

11 made as a result of communication with— 

12 (i) the Office; 

13 (ii) another agency; or 

14 (iii) any other Federal official. 

15 SEC. 7. JUSTIFICATION OF WITHDRAWN RULES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—If an agency withdraws a regu17 latory action after providing the action to the Office under 

18 section 6(a)(3) of the Executive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 

19 601 note; relating to regulatory planning and review) (or, 

20 if the agency does not provide the regulatory action to the 

21 Office under that section, after publishing the general no22 tice of proposed rulemaking with respect to the action 

23 under section 553(b) of title 5, United States Code), the 

24 agency shall publish in the Federal Register, on the public 

25 docket of the agency, and on the internet website of the 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•S 4749 IS

1 agency a statement regarding the decision by the agency 

2 to withdraw the action. 

3 (b) CONTENTS.—A statement required under sub4 section (a) with respect to a decision by an agency to with5 draw a regulatory action shall include, at a minimum— 

6 (1) a detailed explanation of the reasons that 

7 the agency withdrew the action; and 

8 (2) an explanation regarding whether the deci9 sion by the agency to withdraw the action was 

10 based, in whole or in part, on a request by, or input 

11 from— 

12 (A) the Office; 

13 (B) another agency; or 

14 (C) any Federal official outside of the 

15 agency withdrawing the regulatory action. 

16 SEC. 8. NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 5 of 

18 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) in section 561, in the first sentence, by in20 serting ‘‘between agencies and Federal, State, local, 

21 or Tribal governments. This subchapter shall apply 

22 only to information negotiations between Federal, 

23 State, local, or Tribal governments’’ after ‘‘informal 

24 rulemaking process’’; 

25 (2) in section 563— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•S 4749 IS

1 (A) in subsection (a)— 

2 (i) in paragraph (2), by inserting 

3 ‘‘Federal, State, local, or Tribal govern4 ment’’ after ‘‘identifiable’’; and 

5 (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking 

6 ‘‘persons who’’ and inserting ‘‘representa7 tives of Federal, State, local, and Tribal 

8 governments that’’; and 

9 (B) in subsection (b)— 

10 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (I) in subparagraph (A)— 

12 (aa) by striking ‘‘persons 

13 who’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal, 

14 State, local, or Tribal govern15 ments that’’; and 

16 (bb) by striking ‘‘, including 

17 residents of rural areas’’; and 

18 (II) in subparagraph (B)— 

19 (aa) by striking ‘‘with such 

20 persons’’ and inserting ‘‘with rep21 resentatives of those govern22 ments’’; and 

23 (bb) by striking ‘‘to such 

24 persons’’ and inserting ‘‘to those 

25 governments’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•S 4749 IS

1 (ii) in paragraph (2), in the second 

2 sentence— 

3 (I) by striking ‘‘persons who’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘representatives of Fed5 eral, State, local, or Tribal govern6 ments that’’; and 

7 (II) by striking ‘‘, including resi8 dents of rural areas’’; 

9 (3) in section 564— 

10 (A) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘; 

11 applications for membership on committees’’; 

12 (B) in subsection (a)— 

13 (i) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘the 

14 person or persons’’ and inserting ‘‘the rep15 resentatives of Federal, State, local, and 

16 Tribal governments’’; 

17 (ii) in paragraph (6), by adding ‘‘and’’ 

18 at the end; 

19 (iii) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘; 

20 and’’ and inserting a period; and 

21 (iv) by striking paragraph (8); 

22 (C) by striking subsection (b); 

23 (D) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub24 section (b); and 

25 (E) in subsection (b), as so redesignated— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•S 4749 IS

1 (i) in the subsection heading, by strik2 ing ‘‘AND APPLICATIONS’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘and applications’’; 

4 (4) in section 565(a)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence, 

6 by striking ‘‘and applications’’; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘and applications’’; and 

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘publications,’’ and all 

10 that follows through the period at the end 

11 and inserting ‘‘publications.’’; and 

12 (5) in section 569(a), in the first sentence— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘and encourage agency use 

14 of’’; and 

15 (B) by inserting ‘‘between Federal, State, 

16 local, and Tribal governments’’ after ‘‘nego17 tiated rulemaking’’. 

18 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

20 ACT OF 1965.—The Elementary and Secondary Edu21 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is 

22 amended— 

23 (A) in section 1601 (20 U.S.C. 6571)— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•S 4749 IS

1 (i) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘sub2 sections (b) through (d)’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘subsection (b)’’; 

4 (ii) by striking subsections (b) and 

5 (c); and 

6 (iii) by redesignating subsections (d) 

7 and (e) as subsections (b) and (c), respec8 tively; 

9 (B) by repealing section 1602 (20 U.S.C. 

10 6572); and 

11 (C) in section 8204(c)(1) (20 U.S.C. 

12 7824(c)(1)), by striking ‘‘using a negotiated 

13 rulemaking process to develop regulations for 

14 implementation no later than the 2017–2018 

15 academic year, shall define’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘shall, for implementation no later than the 

17 2017–2018 academic year, define’’. 

18 (2) HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND AC19 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 1996.—Section 216(b) of the 

20 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 

21 of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7b note) is amended to 

22 read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(b) RULEMAKING FOR RISK-SHARING EXCEP24 TION.— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•S 4749 IS

1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of 

2 Health and Human Services (in this subsection re3 ferred to as the ‘Secretary’) shall establish standards 

4 relating to the exception for risk-sharing arrange5 ments to the anti-kickback penalties described in 

6 section 1128B(b)(3)(F) of the Social Security Act, 

7 as added by subsection (a). 

8 ‘‘(2) FACTORS TO CONSIDER.—In establishing 

9 standards relating to the exception for risk-sharing 

10 arrangements to the anti-kickback penalties under 

11 paragraph (1), the Secretary— 

12 ‘‘(A) shall consult with the Attorney Gen13 eral and representatives of the hospital, physi14 cian, other health practitioner, and health plan 

15 communities, and other interested parties; and 

16 ‘‘(B) shall take into account— 

17 ‘‘(i) the level of risk appropriate to 

18 the size and type of arrangement; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the frequency of assessment and 

20 distribution of incentives; 

21 ‘‘(iii) the level of capital contribution; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(iv) the extent to which the risk24 sharing arrangement provides incentives to 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•S 4749 IS

1 control the cost and quality of health care 

2 services.’’. 

3 (3) HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.—The 

4 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et 

5 seq.) is amended— 

6 (A) in section 207— 

7 (i) by striking subsection (c); and 

8 (ii) by redesignating subsection (d) as 

9 subsection (c); 

10 (B) in section 422(g)(1)— 

11 (i) in subparagraph (B), by adding 

12 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

13 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

14 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period; and 

15 (iii) by striking subparagraph (D); 

16 (C) in section 487A(b)(3)(B), by striking 

17 ‘‘as determined in the negotiated rulemaking 

18 process under section 492’’; 

19 (D) in section 491(l)(4)(A), by striking ‘‘, 

20 not later than two years after the completion of 

21 the negotiated rulemaking process required 

22 under section 492 resulting from the amend23 ments to this Act made by the Higher Edu24 cation Opportunity Act,’’; and 

25 (E) in section 492— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
17 

•S 4749 IS

1 (i) in the section heading, by striking 

2 ‘‘NEGOTIATED’’; and 

3 (ii) by amending subsection (b) to 

4 read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(b) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—After obtaining 

6 the advice and recommendations described in subsection 

7 (a)(1), the Secretary shall issue final regulations within 

8 the 360-day period described in section 437(e) of the Gen9 eral Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232(e)).’’. 

10 (4) HOUSING ACT OF 1949.—Section 515(r)(3) 

11 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485(r)(3)) 

12 is amended by striking ‘‘in accordance with’’ and all 

13 that follows through the period at the end and in14 serting ‘‘under the rulemaking authority contained 

15 in section 553 of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

16 (5) MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVA17 TION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.—Section 305(g) of 

18 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

19 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1855(g)) is amended— 

20 (A) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3); 

21 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘(A)’’; and 

23 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

24 (B) as paragraph (2) and adjusting the 

25 margins accordingly; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
18 

•S 4749 IS

1 (C) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 

2 by striking the second sentence. 

3 (6) MANDATORY PRICE REPORTING ACT OF

4 2010.—Section 2(b) of the Mandatory Price Report5 ing Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–239; 124 Stat. 

6 2501) is amended— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘WHOLESALE PORK CUTS’’ 

8 and all that follows through ‘‘chapter 3’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘WHOLESALE PORK CUTS.—Chapter 

10 3’’; and 

11 (B) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and 

12 (4). 

13 (7) PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE

14 CARE ACT.—Section 5602 of the Patient Protection 

15 and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 254b note) is 

16 amended— 

17 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

18 ‘‘NEGOTIATED’’; 

19 (B) by striking subsections (b) through 

20 (h); 

21 (C) in subsection (a)— 

22 (i) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

23 subsection (b) and adjusting the margins 

24 accordingly; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
19 

•S 4749 IS

1 (ii) by striking ‘‘ESTABLISHMENT.—’’ 

2 and all that follows through ‘‘The Sec3 retary of Health and Human Services’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘ESTABLISHMENT.—The 

5 Secretary of Health and Human Services’’; 

6 (iii) by striking ‘‘, through a nego7 tiated rulemaking process under sub8 chapter 3 of chapter 5 of title 5, United 

9 States Code,’’; and 

10 (iv) by redesignating subparagraphs 

11 (A) and (B) as paragraphs (1) and (2), re12 spectively, and adjusting the margins ac13 cordingly; and 

14 (D) in subsection (b), as so redesignated, 

15 by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub16 section (a)’’. 

17 (8) PRICE-ANDERSON AMENDMENTS ACT OF

18 1988.—Section 19 of the Price-Anderson Amend19 ments Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amend20 ed— 

21 (A) by striking subsection (b); and 

22 (B) in subsection (a)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘RULEMAKING.—’’ and 

24 all that follows through ‘‘The Nuclear’’ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
20 

•S 4749 IS

1 and inserting ‘‘RULEMAKING PRO2 CEEDING.—The Nuclear’’; and 

3 (ii) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

4 subsection (b) and adjusting the margins 

5 accordingly. 

6 (9) SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—Title XVIII of the 

7 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) is 

8 amended— 

9 (A) in section 1834(l)(1) (42 U.S.C. 

10 1395m(l)(1)), by striking ‘‘through a negotiated 

11 rulemaking process described in title 5, United 

12 States Code,’’; and 

13 (B) in section 1856(a) (42 U.S.C. 1395w– 

14 26(a)); 

15 (i) by striking paragraphs (2) through 

16 (9); 

17 (ii) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (I) by striking ‘‘ESTABLISH19 MENT.—’’ and all that follows through 

20 ‘‘The Secretary shall establish’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘ESTABLISHMENT.—The 

22 Secretary shall establish’’; and 

23 (II) by striking ‘‘and using a ne24 gotiated rulemaking process under 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
21 

•S 4749 IS

1 subchapter III of chapter 5 of title 5, 

2 United States Code’’; and 

3 (III) by redesignating subpara4 graphs (B) and (C) as paragraphs (2) 

5 and (3), respectively, and adjusting 

6 the margins accordingly; and 

7 (iii) in paragraph (2), as so redesig8 nated— 

9 (I) by striking ‘‘subparagraph 

10 (A)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; 

11 and 

12 (II) by redesignating clauses (i), 

13 (ii), and (iii) as subparagraphs (A), 

14 (B), and (C), respectively, and adjust15 ing the margins accordingly. 

16 (10) TITLE 5.—The table of sections for sub17 chapter III of chapter 5 of title 5, United States 

18 Code, is amended by striking the item relating to 

19 section 564 and inserting the following: 

‘‘564. Publication of notice.’’. 

20 (11) TITLE 49.—Section 31136(g)(1) of title 

21 49, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘shall—’’ and all that fol23 lows through ‘‘issue’’ and inserting ‘‘shall 

24 issue’’; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
22 

•S 4749 IS

1 (B) by striking ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a pe2 riod; and 

3 (C) by striking subparagraph (B). 

4 (12) TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT.—Sec5 tion 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 

6 U.S.C. 2607(a)) is amended— 

7 (A) by striking paragraph (6); and 

8 (B) by redesignating paragraph (7) as 

9 paragraph (6). 

10 (13) UNITED STATES HOUSING ACT OF 1937.— 

11 Section 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

12 (42 U.S.C. 1437g) is amended by repealing sub13 section (f). 

14 SEC. 9. STREAMLINING OIRA REVIEW. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

16 (b), if the Office commences a review of a significant regu17 latory action, the Office shall complete such review not 

18 more than 60 days after the date on which the Office re19 ceives the significant regulatory action. 

20 (b) EXTENSION.—The Office may extend the 60-day 

21 period described in subsection (a) by a single 60-day pe22 riod if the Office provides the agency with, and makes 

23 publicly available, a written justification for the extension. 

24 (c) PUBLICATION OF REGULATORY ACTION.—If the 

25 Office waives review of a significant regulatory action of 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
23 

•S 4749 IS

1 an agency without a request for further consideration or 

2 does not notify the agency in writing of the results of the 

3 review within the time frame described in subsection (a) 

4 or (b), the agency may publish the significant regulatory 

5 action in the Federal Register. 

6 SEC. 10. PENALIZING PUBLIC COMPANIES THAT SUBMIT 

7 FALSE INFORMATION TO AGENCIES. 

8 Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, as amend9 ed by sections 4 and 5 of this Act, is amended by adding 

10 at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(j)(1) Any entity required to file an annual report 

12 under section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

13 (15 U.S.C. 78m) that makes a submission under sub14 section (c) knowing the same— 

15 ‘‘(A) to include any materially false, fictitious, 

16 or fraudulent statement or representation; or 

17 ‘‘(B) to omit any material fact resulting in any 

18 statement or representation being false or mis19 leading, 

20 shall be subject a civil penalty of not less than $250,000 

21 for a first violation. 

22 ‘‘(2) Any entity that has a subsequent violation of 

23 paragraph (1) shall be subject to a civil penalty of not 

24 less than $1,000,000 for each subsequent violation. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
24 

•S 4749 IS

1 ‘‘(3) Any submission in violation of this subsection 

2 may be excluded from the record and from consideration 

3 by the agency or otherwise disregarded, and such submis4 sion (or any amendment to such submission) may not be 

5 resubmitted thereafter. An exclusion or other disregard of 

6 a submission pursuant to this subsection shall not affect 

7 the level of deference (in accordance with applicable law) 

8 accorded to agency action by a court reviewing such ac9 tion. 

10 ‘‘(k) Any entity required to file an annual report pur11 suant to section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 

12 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m), shall include in a submission 

13 under subsection (c)(2) of this section the annual report 

14 filed in the year previous to such submission and the quar15 terly report filed most recently prior to such submission.’’. 

16 SEC. 11. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC 

17 ADVOCATE. 

18 Subchapter I of chapter 5 of title 5, United States 

19 Code, is amended— 

20 (1) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘§ 505. Office of the Public Advocate 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

23 Office of Management and Budget an office to be known 

24 as the ‘Office of the Public Advocate’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
25 

•S 4749 IS

1 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL PUBLIC ADVOCATE.—The Office of 

2 the Public Advocate shall be under the supervision of an 

3 official to be known as the ‘National Public Advocate’, who 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) be appointed by the President, by and with 

6 the advice and consent of the Senate; 

7 ‘‘(2) report to the President; 

8 ‘‘(3) be entitled to compensation at the same 

9 rate as the highest rate of basic pay established for 

10 the Senior Executive Service under section 5382; 

11 ‘‘(4) have a background in customer service, 

12 consumer protection, or administrative law; and 

13 ‘‘(5) have experience working with the public in 

14 cases involving rules (as defined in section 551). 

15 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The duties of the Office of the Public 

16 Advocate shall include— 

17 ‘‘(1) assisting agencies in soliciting public par18 ticipation in the rulemaking process; 

19 ‘‘(2) assisting individuals in participating in the 

20 rulemaking process; 

21 ‘‘(3) working with agencies, Congress, and the 

22 public to identify problems and improve public par23 ticipation in the rulemaking process; 

24 ‘‘(4) conducting and publishing research on so25 cial equity impacts of the rulemaking process; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
26 

•S 4749 IS

1 ‘‘(5) developing and coordinating social equity 

2 definitions across the executive branch; 

3 ‘‘(6) when requested by the agency or by the 

4 public through comments submitted through the 

5 process described in section 553 of title 5, United 

6 States Code, performing, not later than 30 days 

7 after the receipt of such a request, a social equity 

8 assessment (as such term is defined in the Stop Cor9 porate Capture Act) for a proposed rule; and 

10 ‘‘(7) facilitating means by which individuals and 

11 populations that have not historically participated in 

12 the rulemaking process may be better included in 

13 the rulemaking process, including by— 

14 ‘‘(A) recommending and implementing new 

15 outreach plans; 

16 ‘‘(B) partnering with State, local, and 

17 Tribal governments, and with community-based 

18 organizations to propagate information about 

19 rules changes; and 

20 ‘‘(C) ensuring information about agency 

21 rulemaking and changes to rules are written in 

22 clear, accessible language that is accessible in 

23 multiple languages. 

24 ‘‘(d) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 180 days after 

25 the date on which the National Public Advocate is apVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Aug 22, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4749.IS S4749

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
27 

•S 4749 IS

1 pointed under this subsection or 180 days after the date 

2 of enactment of this subsection, whichever is later, the Na3 tional Public Advocate shall make rules to carry out this 

4 section.’’; and 

5 (2) in the table of sections for such chapter, by 

6 inserting after the item relating to section 504 the 

7 following: 

‘‘505. Office of the Public Advocate.’’. 

8 SEC. 12. SCOPE OF REVIEW. 

9 Section 706 of title 5, United States Code, is amend10 ed— 

11 (1) in the first sentence of the matter preceding 

12 paragraph (1)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘agency action.’’ and in14 serting ‘‘agency action. If a statute that an 

15 agency administers is silent or ambiguous as to 

16 the proper construction of a particular term or 

17 provision or set of terms or provisions, and an 

18 agency has followed the applicable procedures 

19 in subchapter II of chapter 5, has otherwise 

20 lawfully adjudicated a matter, or has followed 

21 the corresponding procedural provisions of the 

22 relevant statute, as applicable, a reviewing court 

23 shall defer to the agency’s reasonable or per24 missible interpretation of that statute, regardVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Aug 22, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4749.IS S4749

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
28 

•S 4749 IS

1 less of the significance of the related agency ac2 tion or a possible future agency action.’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘To the extent necessary’’ 

4 and inserting: 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent necessary’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(b) UNREASONABLE DELAY.—For purposes of sub8 section (a)(1), unreasonable delay shall include— 

9 ‘‘(1) when an agency has not issued a notice of 

10 proposed rulemaking before the date that is 1 year 

11 after the date of enactment of the legislation man12 dating the rulemaking, where no deadline for the 

13 rulemaking was specified in the enacted law; 

14 ‘‘(2) when an agency has not issued a final 

15 version of a proposed rule before the date that is 1 

16 year after the date on which the proposed rule was 

17 published in the Federal Register; 

18 ‘‘(3) when an agency has not implemented a 

19 final rule before the date that is 1 year after the im20 plementation date published in the Federal Register 

21 or, if no implementation date was provided, before 

22 the date that is 1 year after the date on which the 

23 final rule was published in the Federal Register; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
29 

•S 4749 IS

1 ‘‘(4) when an agency has not issued or imple2 mented a final rule, upon a showing of good cause 

3 therefor.’’. 

4 SEC. 13. EXPANDING PUBLIC AWARENESS OF 

5 RULEMAKINGS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 553 of title 5, United 

7 States Code, as amended by sections 4, 5, and 10 of this 

8 Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(l)(1) The head of each agency shall take such ac10 tions as may be necessary to— 

11 ‘‘(A) expand public awareness of the initiation 

12 of each rule making proceeding; 

13 ‘‘(B) expand public awareness of the publication 

14 of each proposed rule; 

15 ‘‘(C) expand public awareness when a rule is 

16 published; and 

17 ‘‘(D) establish a participation log, including all 

18 rule making participants, with respect to each rule 

19 making. 

20 ‘‘(2) Not later than two business days after the date 

21 on which an agency publishes a notice of proposed rule 

22 making or a final rule under this section, the agency shall 

23 notify interested persons of the publication, including by 

24 using contact information that interested persons have 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
30 

•S 4749 IS

1 provided to the agency and by publishing such notice on 

2 the agency’s website and any social media accounts.’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

4 this section shall take effect beginning on the date that 

5 is 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 14. PUBLIC PETITIONS. 

7 Section 553(e) of title 5, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Each agency’’; 

10 and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) Not later than 60 days after the date on 

13 which an agency receives more than 100,000 signa14 tures on a single petition under paragraph (1), the 

15 agency shall provide a written response that in16 cludes— 

17 ‘‘(A) an explanation of whether the agency 

18 has engaged or is engaging in the requested 

19 issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule; and 

20 ‘‘(B) if the agency has not engaged in the 

21 requested issuance, amendment, or repeal of a 

22 rule, a written explanation for not engaging in 

23 the requested issuance, amendment, or repeal. 

24 ‘‘(3) Not later than 30 days after the date of 

25 enactment of the Stop Corporate Capture Act, the 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
31 

•S 4749 IS

1 head of each agency shall establish and publish pro2 cedures for the processing of a petition under para3 graph (1), including— 

4 ‘‘(A) using the agency website, the Federal 

5 Register, and other Federal websites to educate 

6 the public about how to file a petition under 

7 paragraph (1); and 

8 ‘‘(B) creating an accessible docket on the 

9 internet website of the agency, or on any exist10 ing Government-wide internet website, of any 

11 petition filed under paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(4) No agency action under this subsection 

13 shall be subject to review under chapter 7.’’. 

14 SEC. 15. AMENDMENT TO CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT. 

15 Section 801(b) of title 5, United States Code, is 

16 amended— 

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

18 (2) by striking paragraph (2). 

19 SEC. 16. REINSTATEMENT OF DISAPPROVED RULES. 

20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

21 (1) the term ‘‘covered rule’’ means a rule for 

22 which a joint resolution of disapproval was enacted 

23 under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, be24 fore the date of enactment of this Act; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
32 

•S 4749 IS

1 (2) the term ‘‘Federal agency’’ has the meaning 

2 given the term ‘‘agency’’ in section 551(1) of title 5, 

3 United States Code. 

4 (b) FAST-TRACK REINSTATEMENT.—A Federal 

5 agency may reinstate a covered rule by publishing the cov6 ered rule in the Federal Register during the 1-year period 

7 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 (c) REINSTATEMENT AFTER 1-YEAR PERIOD.—After 

9 the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date of en10 actment of this Act, a Federal agency may reinstate a cov11 ered rule using the rulemaking procedures described in 

12 section 553 of title 5, United States Code. 

13 SEC. 17. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS. 

14 (a) REQUIREMENT OF REGULATORY IMPACT.—If an 

15 agency is performing a cost-benefit or regulatory impact 

16 analysis in the course of issuing a rule, the agency shall— 

17 (1) take into account the benefits of the rule to 

18 the public, including the nonquantifiable benefits of 

19 the rule; and 

20 (2) except for good cause shown, prioritize 

21 adoption of a rule that provides benefits to the pub22 lic, including nonquantifiable benefits. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENT OF DISTRIBUTIONAL EFFECTS.— 

24 An agency shall take into account distributional effects 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
33 

•S 4749 IS

1 and the social equity impact of a rule when issuing such 

2 rule. 

3 (c) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—Section 706 of title 5, 

4 United States Code, as amended by section 12, is amended 

5 in subsection (a), as so designated, by inserting after 

6 ‘‘prejudicial error.’’ the following: ‘‘When acting under 

7 paragraph (2)(A), the court shall not require an agency 

8 to demonstrate that the challenged action meets a cost9 benefit analysis standard except where explicitly required 

10 by law.’’. 

11 SEC. 18. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) AGENCY; RULE.—The terms ‘‘agency’’ and 

14 ‘‘rule’’ have the meanings given such terms in sec15 tion 551 of title 5, United States Code. 

16 (2) INTERESTED PERSON.—The term ‘‘inter17 ested person’’ includes individuals, partnerships, cor18 porations, associations, or public or private organiza19 tions of any character other than an agency. 

20 (3) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of21 fice of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Of22 fice of Management and Budget. 

23 (4) REGULATORY ACTION.—The term ‘‘regu24 latory action’’ means any substantive action by an 

25 agency that promulgates or is expected to lead to the 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
34 

•S 4749 IS

1 promulgation of a final rule or regulation, including 

2 notices of inquiry, advance notices of proposed rule3 making, and notices of proposed rulemaking. 

4 (5) SIGNIFICANT REGULATORY ACTION.—The 

5 term ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ means any reg6 ulatory action that is likely to result in a rule that 

7 may— 

8 (A) have an annual effect on the economy 

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

10 a material way the economy, a sector of the 

11 economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the 

12 environment, public health or safety, or State, 

13 local, or Tribal governments or communities; 

14 (B) create a serious inconsistency or other15 wise interfere with an action taken or planned 

16 by another agency; 

17 (C) materially alter the budgetary impact 

18 of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan pro19 grams or the rights and obligations of recipi20 ents thereof; or 

21 (D) raise novel legal or policy issues aris22 ing out of legal mandates, the President’s prior23 ities, or the general principles of regulation cus24 tomarily practiced by the executive branch. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
35 

•S 4749 IS

1 (6) SOCIAL EQUITY IMPACT.—The term ‘‘social 

2 equity impact’’ means any impact of a proposed 

3 rule, whether intended or unintended, that might 

4 reasonably be expected to disproportionately affect a 

5 population of interested persons that is part of a 

6 protected class or set of protected classes, based on 

7 the rules’s plain language, stated intention, and 

8 based on credible statistical projections and data on 

9 the impacts of similar rules, laws, and policies. 

10 (7) SOCIAL EQUITY ASSESSMENT.—The term 

11 ‘‘social equity assessment’’ means a written and pub12 licly available report that shall specifically consider 

13 any social equity impact, positive or negative, that 

14 the proposed policy might have on a population of 

15 interested persons who share a common char16 acteristic that renders them part of a protected 

17 class, where that population was previously subjected 

18 to discriminatory or exclusionary practices by the 

19 agency promulgating the rule or where credible de20 mographic evidence demonstrates significant dispari21 ties experienced by different populations within a 

22 protected class. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB