II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2670

To amend chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, to require major rules

of agencies to be approved by Congress in order to take effect, and

for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 6, 2000

Mr. THOMAS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

A BILL

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

major rules of agencies to be approved by Congress in

order to take effect, 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 ‘‘Congressional Regu5 latory Review Reform Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE7 MAKING.

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

9 to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 8—CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW

2 OF AGENCY RULEMAKING

‘‘Sec.

‘‘801. Definitions.

‘‘802. Congressional approval of major rules.

‘‘803. Congressional review.

‘‘804. Approval procedure.

‘‘805. Presidential interim approval.

‘‘806. Prohibition on another rule in substantially same form.

‘‘807. Judicial review.

3 ‘‘§ 801. Definitions

4 ‘‘In this chapter:

5 ‘‘(1) The term ‘agency’ has the meaning given

6 that term under section 551(1).

7 ‘‘(2) The term ‘major rule’ —

8 ‘‘(A) means any rule that the Adminis9 trator of the Office of Information and Regu10 latory Affairs of the Office of Management and

11 Budget, after consultation with the Comptroller

12 General, finds has resulted in or is likely to re13 sult in—

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

15 of $100,000,000 or more;

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

17 prices for consumers, individual industries,

18 Federal, State, or local government agen19 cies, or geographic regions; or

20 ‘‘(iii) significant adverse effects on

21 competition, employment, investment, pro-
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1 ductivity, innovation, or on the ability of

2 United States-based enterprises to compete

3 with foreign-based enterprises in domestic

4 and export markets; and

5 ‘‘(B) does not include any rule promul6 gated under the Telecommunications Act of

7 1996 and the amendments made by that Act.

8 ‘‘(3) The term ‘rule’ has the meaning given that

9 term under section 551, except that such term does

10 not include—

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

12 including a rule that approves or prescribes for

13 the future rates, wages, prices, services, or al14 lowances therefor, corporate or financial struc15 tures, reorganizations, mergers, or acquisitions

16 thereof, or accounting practices or disclosures

17 bearing on any of the foregoing;

18 ‘‘(B) any rule relating to agency manage19 ment or personnel; or

20 ‘‘(C) any rule of agency organization, pro21 cedure, or practice that does not substantially

22 affect the rights or obligations of non-agency

23 parties.
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1 ‘‘§ 802. Congressional approval of major rules

2 ‘‘Subject to section 805, before a major rule can take

3 effect, such rule shall be—

4 ‘‘(1) submitted to Congress as required under

5 section 803; and

6 ‘‘(2) approved by a joint resolution described

7 under section 804.

8 ‘‘§ 803. Congressional review

9 ‘‘(a)(1) Any agency promulgating a major rule shall

10 submit to each House of Congress and to the Comptroller

11 General a report containing—

12 ‘‘(A) a copy of the major rule;

13 ‘‘(B) a concise general statement relating to the

14 major rule; and

15 ‘‘(C) the proposed effective date of the major

16 rule.

17 ‘‘(2) On the date of the submission of the report

18 under paragraph (1), the agency promulgating the major

19 rule shall submit to the Comptroller General and make

20 available to each House of Congress—

21 ‘‘(A) a complete copy of the cost-benefit anal22 ysis of the major rule, if any;

23 ‘‘(B) the agency’s actions relevant to sections

24 603, 604, 605, 607, and 609;
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1 ‘‘(C) the agency’s actions relevant to sections

2 202, 203, 204, and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates

3 Reform Act of 1995; and

4 ‘‘(D) any other relevant information or require5 ments under any other Act or any relevant Execu6 tive order.

7 ‘‘(3) Upon receipt of a report submitted under para8 graph (1), each House shall provide copies of the report

9 to the chairman and ranking member of each standing

10 committee with jurisdiction under the rules of the Senate

11 or the House of Representatives to report a bill to amend

12 the provision of law under which the major rule is issued.

13 ‘‘§ 804. Approval procedure

14 ‘‘(a)(1) In this section, the term ‘joint resolution’

15 means only a joint resolution that—

16 ‘‘(A) is introduced on the date described under

17 paragraph (2), the matter after the resolving clause

18 of which is as follows: ‘The Congress approves the

19 rule relating to lllllll submitted by the

20 lllllll, and such rule shall take effect.’;

21 and

22 ‘‘(B) applies to the rule in the form submitted

23 to Congress, without amendment of the rule by Con24 gress.
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1 ‘‘(2) On the first day that both Houses of Congress

2 are in session following the date that a major rule is sub3 mitted to Congress under section 803(a)—

4 ‘‘(A) the Majority Leader of the Senate and the

5 Minority Leader of the Senate shall introduce a joint

6 resolution of approval as described under paragraph

7 (1) relating to that major rule; and

8 ‘‘(B) the Majority Leader of the House of Rep9 resentatives and the Minority Leader of the House

10 of Representatives shall introduce a joint resolution

11 of approval as described under paragraph (1) relat12 ing to that major rule.

13 ‘‘(b)(1) On the date that a joint resolution is intro14 duced under subsection (a), the joint resolution shall be

15 referred to 1 committee of jurisdiction. The committee

16 may not amend the joint resolution. If the joint resolution

17 is not reported by the committee not later than 20 cal18 endar days after referral to the committee, the joint reso19 lution shall be discharged from the committee and placed

20 on the calendar of the appropriate House of Congress.

21 ‘‘(2) Subject to subsection (c), 10 calendar days after

22 the joint resolution is placed on the calendar under para23 graph (1)—

24 ‘‘(A) the joint resolution shall be deemed passed

25 by each House of Congress; and
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1 ‘‘(B)(i) if the joint resolution was introduced in

2 the House of Representatives, the Clerk of the

3 House of Representatives shall enroll the joint reso4 lution for presentation to the President; and

5 ‘‘(ii) if the joint resolution was introduced in

6 the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate shall take no

7 further action.

8 ‘‘(c)(1) If during the 30-calendar day period begin9 ning on the date of introduction of a joint resolution under

10 subsection (a), a petition is signed and filed by 20 percent

11 or more of the Members of either House of Congress ob12 jecting to the approval of a major rule, subsection (b)(2)

13 shall not apply to a joint resolution introduced in either

14 House of Congress relating to the major rule which is the

15 subject of the petition.

16 ‘‘(2) A petition under this subsection may be filed

17 with the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House

18 of Representatives, as appropriate, and both such officers

19 shall accept such a filing on any day on which the Senate

20 or the House of Representatives is not in session.

21 ‘‘(3) The Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the

22 House of Representatives shall submit a copy of any peti23 tion and a copy of the relevant joint resolution to the

24 Comptroller General on the date on which a petition is

25 filed.
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1 ‘‘(d) Not later than 45 days after the date on which

2 a petition is filed under subsection (c), the Comptroller

3 General shall submit a report to the Secretary of the Sen4 ate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives on the

5 applicable major rule. The report shall include a regu6 latory analysis of the major rule and an assessment of the

7 compliance of the agency proposing the rule with section

8 803. Upon submission of the report, the report and the

9 joint resolution of approval shall be published in the Fed10 eral Register.

11 ‘‘(e)(1) On or after the date on which the Comptroller

12 General submits a report under subsection (d), it is at any

13 time in order (even though a previous motion to the same

14 effect has been disagreed to) for any Member of the re15 spective House to move to proceed to the consideration

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

17 joint resolution (and against consideration of the joint res18 olution) are waived. The motion is highly privileged in the

19 House of Representatives and is privileged in the Senate

20 and is not debatable. The motion is not subject to amend21 ment, or to a motion to postpone, or to a motion to pro22 ceed to the consideration of other business. A motion to

23 reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or

24 disagreed to shall not be in order. If a motion to proceed

25 to the consideration of the resolution is agreed to, the joint
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1 resolution shall remain the unfinished business of the re2 spective House until disposed of. An amendment to the

3 joint resolution shall not be in order.

4 ‘‘(2) Debate on the joint resolution, and on all debat5 able motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall be

6 limited to not more than 10 hours, which shall be divided

7 equally between those favoring and those opposing the

8 joint resolution. A motion further to limit debate is in

9 order and not debatable. An amendment to, or a motion

10 to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the consideration

11 of other business, or a motion to recommit the joint reso12 lution is not in order. A motion to reconsider the vote by

13 which the joint resolution is agreed to or disagreed to is

14 not in order.

15 ‘‘(3) Immediately following the conclusion of the de16 bate on a joint resolution, and a single quorum call at

17 the conclusion of the debate if requested in accordance

18 with the rules of the appropriate House, the vote on final

19 passage of the joint resolution shall occur.

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

21 to the application of the rules of the Senate or the House

22 of Representatives, as the case may be, to the procedure

23 relating to a joint resolution shall be decided without de24 bate.
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1 ‘‘(5) If, before the passage by one House of a joint

2 resolution of that House, that House receives from the

3 other House a resolution, then the following procedures

4 shall apply:

5 ‘‘(A) The joint resolution of the other House

6 shall not be referred to a committee.

7 ‘‘(B) With respect to a joint resolution of the

8 House receiving the joint resolution—

9 ‘‘(i) the procedure in that House shall be

10 the same as if no joint resolution had been re11 ceived from the other House; but

12 ‘‘(ii) the vote on final passage shall be on

13 the joint resolution of the other House.

14 ‘‘(f) This section is enacted by Congress—

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

16 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec17 tively, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules

18 of each House, respectively, but applicable only with

19 respect to the procedure to be followed in that

20 House in the case of a joint resolution described in

21 subsection (a), and it supersedes other rules only to

22 the extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and

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

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

25 relating to the procedure of that House) at any time,
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1 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in

2 the case of any other rule of that House.

3 ‘‘§ 805. Presidential interim approval

4 ‘‘(a)(1) A major rule that would not take effect by

5 reason of sections 803 and 804 may take effect as pro6 vided under this section if the President makes a deter7 mination under paragraph (2) and submits a written no8 tice of such determination to the Congress.

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

10 by the President by Executive order that the major rule

11 should take effect because such major rule is—

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

13 to health or safety or other emergency;

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

15 laws;

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

17 ‘‘(D) issued pursuant to any statute imple18 menting an international trade agreement.

19 ‘‘(b)(1) A major rule may be effective under this sec20 tion during the period beginning on the date of the sub21 mission of a notice relating to the rule under subsection

22 (a) and the date on which—

23 ‘‘(A) the President signs a joint resolution of

24 approval of the major rule; or
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1 ‘‘(B) either House of Congress votes against a

2 joint resolution of approval of the major rule.

3 ‘‘(2) If a joint resolution of approval is approved by

4 Congress after a veto by the President, the agency promul5 gating the major rule may treat the major rule as though

6 the veto had not occurred.

7 ‘‘§ 806. Prohibition on another rule in substantially

8 same form

9 ‘‘During the 6-month period beginning on the date

10 on which a vote occurs in either House of Congress that

11 disapproves a joint resolution of approval of a major rule

12 under section 804—

13 ‘‘(1) an agency may not promulgate that major

14 rule in substantially the same form; and

15 ‘‘(2) another rule that is substantially the same

16 as that major rule may not be promulgated, unless

17 a law enacted after the disapproval of the joint reso18 lution specifically authorizes the promulgation of an19 other rule.

20 ‘‘§ 807. Judicial review

21 ‘‘(a) A major rule that is approved by a joint resolu22 tion under this chapter (other than a rule approved by

23 a joint resolution deemed passed under section 804(b)(2))

24 shall not be subject to judicial review.
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1 ‘‘(b) A major rule to which section 805 applies shall

2 not be subject to judicial review during the period de3 scribed under section 805(b).’’.

4 SEC. 3. PROGRAM FOR REVIEW OF AGENCY RULES.

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the terms ‘‘agen6 cy’’ and ‘‘rule’’ have the meanings given such terms under

7 section 551 of title 5, United States Code.

8 (b) PROGRAM FOR REVIEW OF AGENCY RULES.—

9 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The President may es10 tablish by Executive order a program for the system11 atic review of rules.

12 (2) CONTENTS OF PROGRAM.—At a minimum,

13 a program established under this section shall—

14 (A) contain the procedural safeguards in

15 effect under Executive order 12,866;

16 (B) limit the total period of executive re17 view to not more than 90 calendar days;

18 (C) require periodic public disclosure of the

19 status of rules under review;

20 (D)(i) require maintaining a record of all

21 contacts between employees of an agency and

22 persons who are not Federal employees with re23 spect to a rule; and

24 (ii) require public disclosure of such con25 tacts; and
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1 (E) require the public disclosure of each

2 draft of a rule submitted for review to a review3 ing authority, with identification of any changes

4 made at the suggestion of the reviewing author5 ity, at the time the proposed rule is published

6 in the Federal Register for public comment.

7 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

8 This Act and the amendment made by this Act shall

9 take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this

10 Act.

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