112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 10 

AN ACT 

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, 
2 

•HR 10 EH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Regulations From the 

3 Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2011’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

5 The purpose of this Act is to increase accountability 

6 for and transparency in the federal regulatory process. 

7 Section 1 of article I of the United States Constitution 

8 grants all legislative powers to Congress. Over time, Con9 gress has excessively delegated its constitutional charge 

10 while failing to conduct appropriate oversight and retain 

11 accountability for the content of the laws it passes. By 

12 requiring a vote in Congress, the REINS Act will result 

13 in more carefully drafted and detailed legislation, an im14 proved regulatory process, and a legislative branch that 

15 is truly accountable to the American people for the laws 

16 imposed upon them. 

17 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE18 MAKING. 

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

20 to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘CHAPTER 8—CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW 

22 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. 
3 

•HR 10 EH

‘‘806. Exemption for monetary policy. 

‘‘807. Effective date of certain rules. 

1 ‘‘§ 801. Congressional review 

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

3 agency promulgating such rule shall submit to each House 

4 of the Congress and to the Comptroller General a report 

5 containing— 

6 ‘‘(i) a copy of the rule; 

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

8 rule; 

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

10 nonmajor rule, including an explanation of the clas11 sification specifically addressing each criteria for a 

12 major rule contained within sections 804(2)(A), 

13 804(2)(B), and 804(2)(C); 

14 ‘‘(iv) a list of any other related regulatory ac15 tions intended to implement the same statutory pro16 vision or regulatory objective as well as the indi17 vidual and aggregate economic effects of those ac18 tions; and 

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

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

21 under subparagraph (A), the Federal agency promulgating 

22 the rule shall submit to the Comptroller General and make 

23 available to each House of Congress— 
4 

•HR 10 EH

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

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

3 added or lost, differentiating between public and pri4 vate sector jobs; 

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

6 603, 604, 605, 607, and 609 of this title; 

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

8 202, 203, 204, and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates 

9 Reform Act of 1995; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) any other relevant information or require11 ments under any other Act and any relevant Execu12 tive orders. 

13 ‘‘(C) Upon receipt of a report submitted under sub14 paragraph (A), each House shall provide copies of the re15 port to the chairman and ranking member of each stand16 ing committee with jurisdiction under the rules of the 

17 House of Representatives or the Senate to report a bill 

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

19 issued. 

20 ‘‘(2)(A) The Comptroller General shall provide a re21 port on each major rule to the committees of jurisdiction 

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

23 publication date as provided in section 802(b)(2). The re24 port of the Comptroller General shall include an assess-
5 

•HR 10 EH

1 ment of the agency’s compliance with procedural steps re2 quired by paragraph (1)(B). 

3 ‘‘(B) Federal agencies shall cooperate with the Comp4 troller General by providing information relevant to the 

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

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

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

8 a joint resolution of approval described in section 802 or 

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

10 resolution of approval described in section 802, whichever 

11 is later. 

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

13 by section 803 after submission to Congress under para14 graph (1). 

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

16 major rule is not enacted within the period provided in 

17 subsection (b)(2), then a joint resolution of approval relat18 ing to the same rule may not be considered under this 

19 chapter in the same Congress by either the House of Rep20 resentatives or the Senate. 

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

22 Congress enacts a joint resolution of approval described 

23 under section 802. 

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

25 is not enacted into law by the end of 70 session days or 
6 

•HR 10 EH

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

2 which the report referred to in section 801(a)(1)(A) is re3 ceived by Congress (excluding days either House of Con4 gress is adjourned for more than 3 days during a session 

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

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

7 not take effect. 

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

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

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

11 President makes a determination under paragraph (2) and 

12 submits written notice of such determination to the Con13 gress. 

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

15 by the President by Executive order that the major rule 

16 should take effect because such rule is— 

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

18 to health or safety or other emergency; 

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

20 laws; 

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

22 ‘‘(D) issued pursuant to any statute imple23 menting an international trade agreement. 
7 

•HR 10 EH

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

2 under this subsection shall have no effect on the proce3 dures under section 802. 

4 ‘‘(d)(1) In addition to the opportunity for review oth5 erwise provided under this chapter, in the case of any rule 

6 for which a report was submitted in accordance with sub7 section (a)(1)(A) during the period beginning on the date 

8 occurring— 

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

10 or 

11 ‘‘(B) in the case of the House of Representa12 tives, 60 legislative days, 

13 before the date the Congress is scheduled to adjourn a 

14 session of Congress through the date on which the same 

15 or succeeding Congress first convenes its next session, sec16 tions 802 and 803 shall apply to such rule in the suc17 ceeding session of Congress. 

18 ‘‘(2)(A) In applying sections 802 and 803 for pur19 poses of such additional review, a rule described under 

20 paragraph (1) shall be treated as though— 

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

22 Register on— 

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

24 session day, or 
8 

•HR 10 EH

1 ‘‘(II) in the case of the House of Rep2 resentatives, the 15th legislative day, 

3 after the succeeding session of Congress first con4 venes; and 

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

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

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

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

9 report shall be submitted to Congress before a rule can 

10 take effect. 

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

12 effect as otherwise provided by law (including other sub13 sections of this section). 

14 ‘‘§ 802. Congressional approval procedure for major 

15 rules 

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

17 resolution’ means only a joint resolution addressing a re18 port classifying a rule as major pursuant to section 

19 801(a)(1)(A)(iii) that— 

20 ‘‘(A) bears no preamble; 

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

22 as appropriate): ‘Approving the rule submitted by 

23 lll relating to lll.’; 

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

25 following (with blanks filled as appropriate): ‘That 
9 

•HR 10 EH

1 Congress approves the rule submitted by lll re2 lating to lll.’; and 

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

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

5 classifying a rule as major pursuant to section 

6 801(a)(1)(A)(iii), the majority leader of that House (or 

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

8 if appropriate) a joint resolution described in paragraph 

9 (1)— 

10 ‘‘(A) in the case of the House of Representa11 tives, within three legislative days; and 

12 ‘‘(B) in the case of the Senate, within three ses13 sion days. 

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

15 shall not be subject to amendment at any stage of pro16 ceeding. 

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

18 shall be referred in each House of Congress to the commit19 tees having jurisdiction over the provision of law under 

20 which the rule is issued. 

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

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

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

24 days after its introduction, such committee or committees 

25 shall be automatically discharged from further consider-
10 

•HR 10 EH

1 ation of the resolution and it shall be placed on the cal2 endar. A vote on final passage of the resolution shall be 

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

4 the resolution is reported by the committee or committees 

5 to which it was referred, or after such committee or com6 mittees have been discharged from further consideration 

7 of the resolution. 

8 ‘‘(d)(1) In the Senate, when the committee or com9 mittees to which a joint resolution is referred have re10 ported, or when a committee or committees are discharged 

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

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

13 time thereafter in order (even though a previous motion 

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

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

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

17 consideration of the joint resolution) are waived. The mo18 tion is not subject to amendment, or to a motion to post19 pone, or to a motion to proceed to the consideration of 

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

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

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

23 joint resolution is agreed to, the joint resolution shall re24 main the unfinished business of the Senate until disposed 

25 of. 
11 

•HR 10 EH

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

2 and on all debatable motions and appeals in connection 

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

4 shall be divided equally between those favoring and those 

5 opposing the joint resolution. A motion to further limit 

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

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

8 consideration of other business, or a motion to recommit 

9 the joint resolution is not in order. 

10 ‘‘(3) In the Senate, immediately following the conclu11 sion of the debate on a joint resolution described in sub12 section (a), and a single quorum call at the conclusion of 

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

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

15 shall occur. 

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

17 to the application of the rules of the Senate to the proce18 dure relating to a joint resolution described in subsection 

19 (a) shall be decided without debate. 

20 ‘‘(e) In the House of Representatives, if any com21 mittee to which a joint resolution described in subsection 

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

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

24 such committee shall be discharged from further consider25 ation of the joint resolution, and it shall be placed on the 
12 

•HR 10 EH

1 appropriate calendar. On the second and fourth Thursdays 

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

3 Speaker to recognize a Member who favors passage of a 

4 joint resolution that has appeared on the calendar for at 

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

6 immediate consideration in the House without intervention 

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

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

9 hour equally divided and controlled by the proponent and 

10 an opponent, and the previous question shall be considered 

11 as ordered to its passage without intervening motion. It 

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

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

14 been taken by the third Thursday on which the Speaker 

15 may recognize a Member under this subsection, such vote 

16 shall be taken on that day. 

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

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

19 joint resolution having the same text, then— 

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

21 shall not be referred to a committee; and 

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

23 be the same as if no joint resolution had been re24 ceived from the other House until the vote on pas25 sage, when the joint resolution received from the 
13 

•HR 10 EH

1 other House shall supplant the joint resolution of 

2 the receiving House. 

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

4 Representatives if the joint resolution received from the 

5 Senate is a revenue measure. 

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

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

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

9 taken on that day. 

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

11 Congress— 

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

13 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec14 tively, and as such is deemed to be part of the rules 

15 of each House, respectively, but applicable only with 

16 respect to the procedure to be followed in that 

17 House in the case of a joint resolution described in 

18 subsection (a) and superseding other rules only 

19 where explicitly so; and 

20 ‘‘(2) with full recognition of the Constitutional 

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

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

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

24 in the case of any other rule of that House. 
14 

•HR 10 EH

1 ‘‘§ 803. Congressional disapproval procedure for 

2 nonmajor rules 

3 ‘‘(a) For purposes of this section, the term ‘joint res4 olution’ means only a joint resolution introduced in the 

5 period beginning on the date on which the report referred 

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

7 ending 60 days thereafter (excluding days either House 

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

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

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

11 nonmajor rule submitted by the lll relating to 

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

13 blank spaces being appropriately filled in). 

14 ‘‘(b)(1) A joint resolution described in subsection (a) 

15 shall be referred to the committees in each House of Con16 gress with jurisdiction. 

17 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this section, the term submis18 sion or publication date means the later of the date on 

19 which— 

20 ‘‘(A) the Congress receives the report submitted 

21 under section 801(a)(1); or 

22 ‘‘(B) the nonmajor rule is published in the Fed23 eral Register, if so published. 

24 ‘‘(c) In the Senate, if the committee to which is re25 ferred a joint resolution described in subsection (a) has 

26 not reported such joint resolution (or an identical joint 
15 

•HR 10 EH

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

2 of introduction of the joint resolution, such committee may 

3 be discharged from further consideration of such joint res4 olution upon a petition supported in writing by 30 Mem5 bers of the Senate, and such joint resolution shall be 

6 placed on the calendar. 

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

8 a joint resolution is referred has reported, or when a com9 mittee is discharged (under subsection (c)) from further 

10 consideration of a joint resolution described in subsection 

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

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

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

14 resolution, and all points of order against the joint resolu15 tion (and against consideration of the joint resolution) are 

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

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

18 consideration of other business. A motion to reconsider the 

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

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

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

22 shall remain the unfinished business of the Senate until 

23 disposed of. 

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

25 and on all debatable motions and appeals in connection 
16 

•HR 10 EH

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

2 which shall be divided equally between those favoring and 

3 those opposing the joint resolution. A motion to further 

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

5 to, or a motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to 

6 the consideration of other business, or a motion to recom7 mit the joint resolution is not in order. 

8 ‘‘(3) In the Senate, immediately following the conclu9 sion of the debate on a joint resolution described in sub10 section (a), and a single quorum call at the conclusion of 

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

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

13 shall occur. 

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

15 to the application of the rules of the Senate to the proce16 dure relating to a joint resolution described in subsection 

17 (a) shall be decided without debate. 

18 ‘‘(e) In the Senate the procedure specified in sub19 section (c) or (d) shall not apply to the consideration of 

20 a joint resolution respecting a nonmajor rule— 

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

22 beginning with the applicable submission or publica23 tion date, or 

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

25 was submitted during the period referred to in sec-
17 

•HR 10 EH

1 tion 801(d)(1), after the expiration of the 60 session 

2 days beginning on the 15th session day after the 

3 succeeding session of Congress first convenes. 

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

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

6 House receives from the other House a joint resolution 

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

8 shall apply: 

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

10 shall not be referred to a committee. 

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

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

13 resolution— 

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

15 the same as if no joint resolution had been re16 ceived from the other House; but 

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

18 the joint resolution of the other House. 

19 ‘‘§ 804. Definitions 

20 ‘‘For purposes of this chapter— 

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

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

23 ‘‘(2) The term ‘major rule’ means any rule, in24 cluding an interim final rule, that the Administrator 

25 of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 
18 

•HR 10 EH

1 of the Office of Management and Budget finds has 

2 resulted in or is likely to result in— 

3 ‘‘(A) an annual effect on the economy of 

4 $100,000,000 or more; 

5 ‘‘(B) a major increase in costs or prices for 

6 consumers, individual industries, Federal, 

7 State, or local government agencies, or geo8 graphic regions; or 

9 ‘‘(C) significant adverse effects on competi10 tion, employment, investment, productivity, in11 novation, or on the ability of United States12 based enterprises to compete with foreign-based 

13 enterprises in domestic and export markets. 

14 ‘‘(3) The term ‘nonmajor rule’ means any rule 

15 that is not a major rule. 

16 ‘‘(4) The term ‘rule’ has the meaning given 

17 such term in section 551, except that such term does 

18 not include— 

19 ‘‘(A) any rule of particular applicability, 

20 including a rule that approves or prescribes for 

21 the future rates, wages, prices, services, or al22 lowances therefore, corporate or financial struc23 tures, reorganizations, mergers, or acquisitions 

24 thereof, or accounting practices or disclosures 

25 bearing on any of the foregoing; 
19 

•HR 10 EH

1 ‘‘(B) any rule relating to agency manage2 ment or personnel; or 

3 ‘‘(C) any rule of agency organization, pro4 cedure, or practice that does not substantially 

5 affect the rights or obligations of non-agency 

6 parties. 

7 ‘‘§ 805. Judicial review 

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

9 under this chapter shall be subject to judicial review. 

10 ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a court may de11 termine whether a Federal agency has completed the nec12 essary requirements under this chapter for a rule to take 

13 effect. 

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

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

16 grant or modification of statutory authority by Congress 

17 for the promulgation of a rule, shall not extinguish or af18 fect any claim, whether substantive or procedural, against 

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

20 the record before the court in any judicial proceeding con21 cerning a rule except for purposes of determining whether 

22 or not the rule is in effect. 

23 ‘‘§ 806. Exemption for monetary policy 

24 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall apply to rules that con25 cern monetary policy proposed or implemented by the 
20 

•HR 10 EH

1 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the 

2 Federal Open Market Committee. 

3 ‘‘§ 807. Effective date of certain rules 

4 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 801— 

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

6 closes, or conducts a regulatory program for a com7 mercial, recreational, or subsistence activity related 

8 to hunting, fishing, or camping; or 

9 ‘‘(2) any rule other than a major rule which an 

10 agency for good cause finds (and incorporates the 

11 finding and a brief statement of reasons therefore in 

12 the rule issued) that notice and public procedure 

13 thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary 

14 to the public interest, 

15 shall take effect at such time as the Federal agency pro16 mulgating the rule determines.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF RULES SUBJECT TO SEC18 TION 802 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE. 

19 Section 257(b)(2) of the Balanced Budget and Emer20 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended by adding 

21 at the end the following new subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(E) BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF RULES

23 SUBJECT TO SECTION 802 OF TITLE 5, UNITED

24 STATES CODE.—Any rules subject to the con25 gressional approval procedure set forth in sec-
21 

•HR 10 EH

1 tion 802 of chapter 8 of title 5, United States 

2 Code, affecting budget authority, outlays, or re3 ceipts shall be assumed to be effective unless it 

4 is not approved in accordance with such sec5 tion.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 7, 

2011. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 10 

AN ACT 

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

resolution of approval is enacted into law. branch shall have no force or effect unless a joint to provide that major rules of the executive