I

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4863

To ensure the incorporation of risk assessment and cost benefit analysis

in the rulemaking process.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 20, 1998

Mr. CONDIT (for himself and Mr. JOHN) introduced the following bill; which

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the

Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To ensure the incorporation of risk assessment and cost

benefit analysis in the rulemaking process.

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 ‘‘Government Regu5 latory Improvement and Performance Act of 1998’’.

6 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF REGULATORY PHILOSOPHY AND

7 PRINCIPLES.

8 (a) THE REGULATORY PHILOSOPHY.—Federal agen9 cies (in this Act referred to as ‘‘agencies’’) should promul-
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1 gate only such regulations as are required by law, are nec2 essary to interpret the law, or are necessary to protect

3 and promote or improve the health and safety of the pub4 lic, the environment, or the well-being of the American

5 people. In deciding whether and how to regulate, agencies

6 should assess all costs and benefits of available regulatory

7 alternatives, including the alternative of not regulating.

8 Costs and benefits shall be understood to include both

9 quantifiable measures (to the fullest extent that these can

10 be usefully estimated) and qualitative measures of costs

11 and benefits that are difficult to quantify, but nevertheless

12 essential to consider. Further, in choosing among alter13 native regulatory approaches, agencies should select those

14 approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential

15 economic, environmental, public health and safety, and

16 other advantages, distributive impacts, and equity), unless

17 a statute requires another regulatory approach.

18 (b) THE PRINCIPLES OF REGULATION.—To ensure

19 that the agencies’ regulatory programs are consistent with

20 the philosophy set out in subsection (a), agencies shall ad21 here to the following principles in promulgating any regu22 lation, to the extent permitted by law and where applica23 ble:

24 (1) Each agency shall identify the problem that

25 it intends to address by the regulation (including,
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1 where applicable, the failures of private markets or

2 public institutions that warrant new agency action),

3 assess the significance of that problem, and if pos4 sible conduct a risk analysis regarding the regula5 tion.

6 (2) Each agency shall examine whether existing

7 regulations (or other law) have created, or contrib8 uted to, the problem that a new regulation is in9 tended to correct and whether those regulations (or

10 other law) should be modified to achieve the in11 tended goal of regulation more effectively.

12 (3) Each agency shall identify and assess avail13 able alternatives to direct regulation, including pro14 viding economic incentives to encourage the desired

15 behavior, such as user fees or marketable permits or

16 providing information upon which choices can be

17 made by the public.

18 (4) In setting regulatory priorities, each agency

19 shall consider, to the extent permitted by law, the

20 degree and nature of the risks posed by various sub21 stances or activities within its jurisdiction.

22 (5) When an agency determines that a regula23 tion is necessary, it shall design its regulations in

24 the most cost-effective manner to achieve the regu25 latory objective. In doing so, each agency shall con-
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1 sider incentives for innovation, consistency, predict2 ability, the costs of enforcement and compliance (to

3 the government, regulated entities, and the public),

4 flexibility, distributive impacts, and equity.

5 (6) Each agency shall assess both the costs and

6 the benefits of the intended regulation and, recogniz7 ing that some costs and benefits are difficult to

8 quantify, propose or adopt a regulation only upon a

9 reasoned determination that the benefits of the in10 tended regulation justify its costs.

11 (7) Each agency shall base its decisions on the

12 best reasonably obtainable scientific, technical, eco13 nomic, and other information concerning the need

14 for, and consequences of, the intended regulation.

15 (8) Each agency shall identify and assess alter16 native forms of regulation and shall, to the extent

17 feasible, specify performance objectives, rather than

18 specifying the behavior or manner of compliance

19 that regulated entities must adopt.

20 (9) Wherever feasible, agencies shall seek views

21 of appropriate State, local, and tribal officials before

22 imposing regulatory requirements that might signifi23 cantly or uniquely affect those governmental entities.

24 Each agency shall assess the effects of Federal regu25 lations on State, local, and tribal governments, in-
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1 cluding specifically the availability of resources to

2 carry out those mandates, and seek to minimize

3 those burdens that uniquely or significantly affect

4 such governmental entities, consistent with achieving

5 regulatory objectives. In addition, as appropriate,

6 agencies shall seek to harmonize Federal regulatory

7 actions with related State, local, and tribal regu8 latory and other governmental functions.

9 (10) Each agency shall avoid regulations that

10 are inconsistent, incompatible, or duplicative with its

11 other regulations or those of other Federal agencies.

12 (11) Each agency shall tailor its regulations to

13 impose the least burden on society, including individ14 uals, businesses of differing sizes, and other entities

15 (including small communities and governmental enti16 ties), consistent with obtaining the regulatory objec17 tives, taking into account, among other things, and

18 to the extent practicable, the costs of cumulative

19 regulations.

20 (12) Each agency shall draft its regulations to

21 be simple and easy to understand, with the goal of

22 minimizing the potential for uncertainty and litiga23 tion arising from such uncertainty.
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1 SEC. 3. ORGANIZATION.

2 (a) THE AGENCIES.—Because Federal agencies are

3 the repositories of significant substantive expertise and ex4 perience, they are responsible for developing regulations

5 and assuring that the regulations are consistent with ap6 plicable law, the President’s priorities, and the principles

7 set forth in this Act.

8 (b) THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.—

9 Coordinated review of agency rulemaking is necessary to

10 ensure that regulations are consistent with applicable law,

11 the President’s priorities, and the principles set forth in

12 this Act, and that decisions made by one agency do not

13 conflict with the policies or actions taken or planned by

14 another agency. The Office of Management and Budget

15 (in this Act referred to as ‘‘OMB’’) shall carry out that

16 review function. Within OMB, the Office of Information

17 and Regulatory Affairs (in this Act referred as as

18 ‘‘OIRA’’) is the repository of expertise concerning regu19 latory issues, including methodologies and procedures that

20 affect more than one agency, this Act, and the President’s

21 regulatory policies. To the extent permitted by law, OMB

22 shall provide guidance to agencies and assist the Presi23 dent, the Administrator of OIRA, and other regulatory

24 policy advisers to the President in regulatory planning and

25 shall be the entity that reviews individual regulations, as

26 provided by this Act.
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1 (c) THE ADMINISTRATOR OF OIRA.—The Adminis2 trator of OIRA shall coordinate the development and pres3 entation of recommendations concerning, regulatory pol4 icy, planning, and review, as set forth in this Act. In ful5 filling their responsibilities under this Act, the President

6 and the Administrator of OIRA shall be assisted by the

7 regulatory policy advisers within the Executive Office of

8 the President and by such agency officials and personnel

9 as the President and the Administrator of OIRA may,

10 from time to time, consult.

11 SEC. 4. PLANNING MECHANISM.

12 (a) AGENCIES’ POLICY MEETING.—Early in each

13 year’s planning cycle, the Administrator of OIRA shall

14 convene a meeting of the Advisers and the heads of agen15 cies to seek a common understanding of priorities and to

16 coordinate regulatory efforts to be accomplished in the up17 coming year.

18 (b) UNIFIED REGULATORY AGENDA.— Each agency

19 shall prepare an agenda of all regulations under develop20 ment or review, at a time and in a manner specified by

21 the Administrator of OIRA. The description of each regu22 latory action shall contain, at a minimum, a regulation

23 identifier number, a brief summary of the action, the legal

24 authority for the action, any legal deadline for the action,

25 and the name and telephone number of a knowledgeable
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1 agency official. Agencies may incorporate the information

2 required under section 602 of title 5, United States Code,

3 into these agendas.

4 (c) THE REGULATORY PLAN.—

5 (1) As part of the Unified Regulatory Agenda,

6 beginning in 1994, each agency shall prepare a Reg7 ulatory Plan (in this Act referred to as a ‘‘Plan’’)

8 of the most important significant regulatory actions

9 that the agency reasonably expects to issue in pro10 posed or final form in that fiscal year or thereafter.

11 The Plan shall be approved personally by the agency

12 head and shall contain at a minimum—

13 (A) a statement of the agency’s regulatory

14 objectives and priorities and how they relate to

15 the philosophy and principles set forth in sec16 tions 2(a) and 2(b), respectively;

17 (B) a summary of each planned significant

18 regulatory action including, to the extent pos19 sible, alternatives to be considered and prelimi20 nary estimates of the anticipated costs and ben21 efits;

22 (C) a summary of the legal basis for each

23 such action, including whether any aspect of the

24 action is required by statute or court order;
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1 (D) a statement of the need for each such

2 action and, if applicable, how the action will re3 duce risks to public health, safety, or the envi4 ronment, as well as how the magnitude of the

5 risk addressed by the action relates to other

6 risks within the jurisdiction of the agency;

7 (E) the agency’s schedule for action, in8 cluding a statement of any applicable statutory

9 or judicial deadlines; and

10 (F) the name, address, and telephone num11 ber of a person the public may contact for addi12 tional information about the planned regulatory

13 action.

14 (3) The Plans developed by the issuing agency

15 shall be published annually in the October publica16 tion of the Unified Regulatory Agenda. This publica17 tion shall be made available to the Congress; State,

18 local, and tribal governments; and the public. Any

19 views on any aspect of any agency Plan, including

20 whether any planned regulatory action might conflict

21 with any other planned or existing regulation, im22 pose any unintended consequences on the public, or

23 confer any unclaimed benefits on the public, should

24 be directed to the issuing agency, with a copy to

25 OIRA.
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1 (d) REGULATORY WORKING GROUP.—Within 30

2 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad3 ministrator of OIRA shall convene a Regulatory Working

4 Group (‘‘Working Group’’), which shall consist of rep5 resentatives of the heads of each agency that the Adminis6 trator determines to have significant domestic regulatory

7 responsibility and the Advisers. The Administrator of

8 OIRA shall chair the Working Group and shall periodically

9 advise the President and the Congress on the activities

10 of the Working Group. The Working Group shall serve

11 as a forum to assist agencies in identifying and analyzing

12 important regulatory issues (including, among others (1)

13 the development of innovative regulatory techniques, (2)

14 the methods, efficacy, and utility of comparative risk as15 sessment in regulatory decision-making, and (3) the devel16 opment of short forms and other streamlined regulatory

17 approaches for small businesses and other entities). The

18 Working Group shall meet at least quarterly and may

19 meet as a whole or in subgroups of agencies with an inter20 est in particular issues or subject areas. To inform its dis21 cussions, the Working Group may commission analytical

22 studies and reports by OIRA, the Administrative Con23 ference of the United States, or any other agency.

24 (e) CONFERENCES.—The Administrator of OIRA and

25 the heads of agencies shall meet quarterly with representa-
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1 tives of State, local, and tribal governments to identify

2 both existing and proposed regulations that may uniquely

3 or significantly affect those governmental entities. The

4 Administrator of OIRA shall also convene, periodically

5 conferences with representatives of businesses, nongovern6 mental organizations, and the public to discuss regulatory

7 issues of common concern.

8 (f) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

9 term ‘‘agency’’ includes independent regulatory agencies,

10 as defined in section 3502(10) of title 44 United States

11 Code.

12 SEC. 5. EXISTING REGULATIONS.

13 (a) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of this section are

14 to reduce the regulatory burden on the American people,

15 their families, their communities, their State, local, and

16 tribal governments, and their industries, to determine

17 whether regulations promulgated by the executive branch

18 of the Federal Government have become unjustified or un19 necessary as a result of changed circumstances, to confirm

20 that regulations are both compatible with each other and

21 not duplicative or inappropriately burdensome in the ag22 gregate, to ensure that all regulations are consistent with

23 the President’s priorities and the principles set forth in

24 this Act, within applicable law, and to otherwise improve

25 the effectiveness of existing regulations.
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1 (b) PROGRAM FOR REVIEW.—Within 90 days after

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, each agency shall

3 submit to OIRA a program, consistent with its resources

4 and regulatory priorities, under which the agency will peri5 odically review its existing significant regulations to deter6 mine whether any such regulations should be modified or

7 eliminated so as to make the agency’s regulatory program

8 more effective in achieving the regulatory objectives, less

9 burdensome, or in greater alignment with the President’s

10 priorities and the principles set forth in this Act. Any sig11 nificant regulations selected for review shall be included

12 in the agency’s annual Plan. The agency shall also identify

13 any legislative mandates that require the agency to pro14 mulgate or continue to impose regulations that the agency

15 believes are unnecessary or outdated by reason of changed

16 circumstances.

17 (c) FUNCTION OF ADMINISTRATOR OF OIRA.—The

18 Administrator of OIRA shall work with the Regulatory

19 Working Group and other interested entities to pursue the

20 objectives of this section. State, local, and tribal govern21 ments are specifically encouraged to assist in the identi22 fication of regulations that impose significant or unique

23 burdens on those governmental entities, and that result

24 in the compliance costs that are not funded by the Federal
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1 Government, appear to have outlived their justification, or

2 are otherwise inconsistent with the public interest.

3 (d) OTHER REGULATIONS FOR REVIEW.—The Ad4 ministrator of OIRA, in consultation with the Advisers,

5 may identify for review by the appropriate agency or agen6 cies other existing regulations of an agency or groups of

7 regulations of more than one agency that affect a particu8 lar group, industry, or sector of the economy, or may iden9 tify legislative mandates that may be appropriate for re10 consideration by the Congress.

11 SEC. 6. CENTRALIZED REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.

12 (a) APPLICATION.—The requirements set forth in

13 this section shall apply to all regulatory actions (including

14 both new and existing regulations) by agencies other than

15 those agencies specifically exempted by the Administrator

16 of OIRA.

17 (b) AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.—

18 (1) Each agency shall (consistent with its own

19 rules, regulations, or procedures) provide the public

20 with meaningful participation in the regulatory proc21 ess. In particular, before issuing a notice of pro22 posed rulemaking, each agency should, where appro23 priate, seek the involvement of those who are in24 tended to benefit from and those expected to be bur25 dened by any regulation (including, specifically,
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1 State, local, and tribal officials). In addition, each

2 agency should afford the public a meaningful oppor3 tunity to comment on any proposed regulation,

4 which in most cases should include a comment pe5 riod of not less than 60 days. Each agency also is

6 directed to explore and, where appropriate, use con7 sensual mechanisms for developing regulations, in8 cluding negotiated rulemaking.

9 (2) Within 60 days of the date of the enactment

10 of this Act, each agency head shall designate a Reg11 ulatory Policy Officer who shall report to the agency

12 head. The Regulatory Policy Officer shall be involved

13 at each stage of the regulatory process to foster the

14 development of effective, innovative, and least bur15 densome regulations and to further the principles set

16 forth in this Act.

17 (3) In addition to adhering to its own rules and

18 procedures and to the requirements of chapters 5, 6,

19 and 7 of title 5, United States Code, the Paperwork

20 Reduction Act of 1980, and other applicable law,

21 each agency shall develop its regulatory actions in a

22 timely fashion and adhere to the following proce23 dures with respect to a regulatory action:

24 (A) Each agency shall provide OIRA, at

25 such times and in the manner specified by the
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1 Administrator of OIRA, with a list of its

2 planned regulatory actions, indicating those

3 which the agency believes are significant regu4 latory actions within the meaning of this Act.

5 Absent a material change in the development of

6 the planned regulatory action, those not des7 ignated as significant will not be subject to re8 view under this section unless, within 10 work9 ing days of receipt of the list, the Administrator

10 of OIRA notifies the agency that OIRA has de11 termined that a planned regulation is a signifi12 cant regulatory action within the meaning of

13 this Act. The Administrator of OIRA may

14 waive review of any planned regulatory action

15 designated by the agency as significant, in

16 which case the agency need not further comply

17 with subparagraph (B) or (C).

18 (B) For each matter identified as, or de19 termined by the Administrator of OIRA to be,

20 a significant regulatory action, the issuing

21 agency shall provide to OIRA—

22 (i) the text of the draft regulatory ac23 tion, together with a reasonably detailed

24 description of the need for the regulatory
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1 action and an explanation of how the regu2 latory action will meet that need; and

3 (ii) an assessment of the potential

4 costs and benefits of the regulatory action,

5 including an explanation of the manner in

6 which the regulatory action is consistent

7 with a statutory mandate and, to the ex8 tent permitted by law, promotes the philos9 ophy and principles set forth in sections

10 2(a) and 2(b), respectively, and avoids

11 undue interference with State, local, and

12 tribal governments in the exercise of their

13 governmental functions.

14 (C) For those actions identified as, or de15 termined by the Administrator of OIRA to be,

16 a significant regulatory action, the agency shall

17 conduct an analysis that includes the following:

18 (i) An assessment, including the un19 derlying analysis, of benefits anticipated

20 from the regulatory action (including the

21 promotion of the efficient functioning of

22 the economy and private markets, the en23 hancement of health and safety, the pro24 tection of the natural environment, and the

25 elimination or reduction of discrimination
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1 or bias) together with, to the extent fea2 sible, a quantification of those benefits.

3 (ii) An assessment, including the un4 derlying analysis, of costs anticipated from

5 the regulatory action (including the direct

6 cost to the Federal Government and State

7 and local governments in administering the

8 regulation and to businesses and others in

9 complying with the regulation, and any ad10 verse effects on the efficient functioning of

11 the economy, private markets (including

12 productivity, employment, and competitive13 ness), health, safety, and the natural envi14 ronment), together with, to the extent fea15 sible, a quantification of those costs.

16 (iii) An assessment, including the un17 derlying analysis, comparing costs and

18 benefits of potentially effective and reason19 ably feasible alternatives to the planned

20 regulation and to the extent feasible a

21 quantitative comparison of costs and bene22 fits (including improving the current regu23 lation and reasonably viable nonregulatory

24 actions), and an explanation why the
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1 planned regulatory action is preferable to

2 the identified potential alternatives.

3 (D) In emergency situations or when an

4 agency is obligated by law to act more quickly

5 than normal review procedures allow, the agen6 cy shall notify OIRA as soon as possible and,

7 to the extent practicable, comply with subpara8 graphs (B) and (C). For those regulatory ac9 tions that are governed by a statutory or court10 imposed deadline, the agency shall, to the ex11 tent practicable, schedule rulemaking proceed12 ings so as to permit sufficient time for OIRA

13 to conduct its review, as set forth in subsection

14 (c)(2) through (4).

15 (E) After the regulatory action has been

16 published in the Federal Register or otherwise

17 issued to the public, the agency shall—

18 (i) make available to the public the in19 formation set forth in subparagraphs (B)

20 and (C);

21 (ii) identify for the public, in a com22 plete, clear, and simple manner, the sub23 stantive changes between the draft submit24 ted to OIRA for review and the action sub25 sequently announced; and
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1 (iii) identify for the public those

2 changes in the regulatory action that were

3 made at the suggestion or recommendation

4 of OIRA.

5 (F) All information provided to the public

6 by the agency shall be in plain, understandable

7 language.

8 (c) OIRA RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Administrator of

9 OIRA shall provide meaningful guidance and oversight so

10 that each agency’s regulatory actions are consistent with

11 applicable law and the philosophy and principles set forth

12 in sections 2(a) and 2(b) and do not conflict with the poli13 cies or actions of another agency. OIRA shall, to the ex14 tent permitted by law, adhere to the following guidelines:

15 (1) OIRA may review only actions identified by

16 the agency or by OIRA as significant regulatory ac17 tions under subsection (b)(3)(A).

18 (2) OIRA shall waive review or notify the agen19 cy in writing of the results of its review within the

20 following time periods:

21 (A) For any notices of inquiry, advance no22 tices of proposed rulemaking, or other prelimi23 nary regulatory actions prior to a notice of pro24 posed rulemaking, within 10 calendar days after
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1 the date of submission of the draft action to

2 OIRA.

3 (B) For all other regulatory actions, within

4 90 calendar days after the date of submission

5 of the information set forth in subparagraphs

6 (B) and (C) of this section, except that if OIRA

7 has previously reviewed this information and,

8 since that review, there has been no material

9 change in the facts and circumstances upon

10 which the regulatory action is based, OIRA

11 shall complete its review within 45 days after

12 the date of submission of such information.

13 (C) The review process may be extended

14 (i) once by no more than 30 calendar days upon

15 the written approval of the Director, and (ii) at

16 the request of the agency head.

17 (3) For each regulatory action that the Admin18 istrator of OIRA returns to an agency for further

19 consideration of some or all of its provisions, the Ad20 ministrator of OIRA shall provide the issuing agency

21 a written explanation for such return, setting forth

22 the pertinent provision of this Act on which OIRA

23 is relying. If the agency head disagrees with some or

24 all of the bases for the return, the agency head shall

25 so inform the Administrator of OIRA in writing.
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1 (4) Except as otherwise provided by law or re2 quired by a court, in order to ensure greater open3 ness, accessibility, and accountability in the regu4 latory review process, OIRA shall be governed by the

5 following disclosure requirements:

6 (A) All substantive communications be7 tween OIRA personnel and persons not em8 ployed by the executive branch of the Federal

9 Government regarding a regulatory action

10 under review shall be documented and governed

11 by the following requirements:

12 (i) A representative from the issuing

13 agency shall be invited to any meeting be14 tween OIRA personnel and such persons.

15 (ii) OIRA shall forward to the issuing

16 agency, within 10 working days of receipt

17 of the communications, all written commu18 nications, regardless of format, between

19 OIRA personnel and any person who is not

20 employed by the executive branch of the

21 Federal Government, and the dates and

22 names of individuals involved in all sub23 stantive oral communications (including

24 meetings to which an agency representative

25 was invited, but did not attend, and tele-
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1 phone conversations between OIRA person2 nel and any such persons).

3 (iii) OIRA shall publicly disclose rel4 evant information about such communica5 tions, as set forth in subparagraph (B).

6 (B) OIRA shall maintain a publicly avail7 able log that shall contain, at a minimum, the

8 following information pertinent to regulatory

9 actions under review:

10 (i) The status of all regulatory ac11 tions, including if (and if so, when and by

12 whom) Vice Presidential and Presidential

13 consideration was requested.

14 (ii) A notation of all written commu15 nications forwarded to an issuing agency

16 under subparagraph (A)(ii).

17 (iii) The dates and names of individ18 uals involved in all substantive oral com19 munications, including meetings and tele20 phone conversations, between OIRA per21 sonnel and any person not employed by the

22 executive branch of the Federal Govern23 ment, and the subject matter discussed

24 during such communications.
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1 (C) After the regulatory action has been

2 published in the Federal Register or otherwise

3 issued to the public, or after the agency has an4 nounced its decision not to publish or issue the

5 regulatory action, OIRA shall make available to

6 the public all documents exchanged between

7 OIRA and the agency during the review by

8 OIRA under this section.

9 (5) All information provided to the public by

10 OIRA shall be in plain, understandable language.

11 SEC. 7. RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS.

12 To the extent permitted by law, disagreements or

13 conflicts between or among agency heads or between OMB

14 and any agency that cannot be resolved by the Adminis15 trator of OIRA shall be resolved by the President or a

16 designee of the President.

17 SEC. 8. PUBLICATION.

18 Except to the extent required by law, an agency shall

19 not publish in the Federal Register or otherwise issue to

20 the public any regulatory action that is subject to review

21 under section 6 until—

22 (1) the Administrator of OIRA notifies the

23 agency that OIRA has waived its review of the ac24 tion or has completed its review without any re25 quests for further consideration, or
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1 (2) the applicable time period in section 6(b)(2)

2 expires without OIRA having notified the agency

3 that it is returning the regulatory action for further

4 consideration under section 6(b)(3),

5 whichever occurs first. If the terms of the preceding sen6 tence have not been satisfied and an agency wants to pub7 lish or otherwise issue a regulatory action, the head of that

8 agency may request Presidential consideration through the

9 Administrator of OIRA, as provided under section 8. Upon

10 receipt of this request, the Administrator of OIRA shall

11 notify the Advisers. The guidelines and time period set

12 forth in section 8 shall apply to the publication of regu13 latory actions for which Presidential consideration has

14 been sought.

15 SEC. 9. AGENCY AUTHORITY.

16 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as displacing

17 the agencies’ authority or responsibilities, as authorized

18 by law.

19 SEC. 10. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

20 Nothing in this Act shall affect any otherwise avail21 able judicial review of agency action. This Act is intended

22 only to improve the internal management of the Federal

23 Government and does not create any right or benefit, sub24 stantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a
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1 party against the United States, its agencies or instrumen2 talities, its officers or employees, or any other person.

3 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS.

4 For purposes of this Act:

5 (1) The term ‘‘Advisers’’ refers to such regu6 latory policy advisers to the President as the Presi7 dent and the Administrator of OIRA may from time

8 to time consult, including, among others—

9 (A) the Director of OMB;

10 (B) the Chair (or another member) of the

11 Council of Economic Advisers;

12 (C) the Assistant to the President for Eco13 nomic Policy;

14 (D) the Assistant to the President for Do15 mestic Policy;

16 (E) the Assistant to the President for Na17 tional Security Affairs;

18 (F) the Assistant to the President for

19 Science and Technology;

20 (G) the Assistant to the President for

21 Intergovernmental Affairs;

22 (H) the Assistant to the President and

23 Staff Secretary;

24 (I) the Assistant to the President and

25 Chief of Staff to the Administrator of OIRA;
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1 (J) the Assistant to the President and

2 Counsel to the President; and

3 (K) the Deputy Assistant to the President

4 and Director of the White House Office on En5 vironmental Policy.

6 (2) Except as provided in section 4(f), the term

7 ‘‘agency’’ means any authority of the United States

8 that is an ‘‘agency’’ under section 3502(1) of title

9 44, United States Code, other than those considered

10 to be independent regulatory agencies, as defined in

11 section 3502(10) of title 44, United States Code.

12 (3) The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of

13 OMB.

14 (4) The term ‘‘regulation’’ or ‘‘rule’’ means an

15 agency statement of general applicability and future

16 effect, which the agency intends to have the force

17 and effect of law, that is designed to implement, in18 terpret, or prescribe law or policy or to describe the

19 procedure or practice requirements of an agency. It

20 does not, however, include—

21 (A) regulations or rules issued in accord22 ance with the formal rulemaking provisions of

23 sections 556 and 557 of title 5, United States

24 Code;
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1 (B) regulations or rules that pertain to a

2 military or foreign affairs function of the

3 United States, other than procurement regula4 tions and regulations involving the import or

5 export of non-defense articles and services;

6 (C) regulations or rules that are limited to

7 agency organization, management, or personnel

8 matters; or

9 (D) any other category of regulations ex10 empted by the Administrator of OIRA.

11 (5) The term ‘‘regulatory action’’ means any

12 substantive action by an agency (normally published

13 in the Federal Register) that promulgates or is ex14 pected to lead to the promulgation of a final rule or

15 regulation, including notices of inquiry, advance no16 tices of proposed rulemaking, and notices of pro17 posed rulemaking.

18 (6) The term ‘‘significant regulatory action’’

19 means any regulatory action that is likely to result

20 in a rule that may—

21 (A) have an annual effect on the economy

22 of $100 million or more or adversely affect in

23 a material way the economy, a sector of the

24 economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the
28

•HR 4863 IH

1 environment, public health or safety, or State,

2 local, or tribal governments or communities;

3 (B) create a serious inconsistency or other4 wise interfere with an action taken or planned

5 by another agency;

6 (C) materially alter the budgetary impact

7 of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan pro8 grams or the rights and obligations of recipi9 ents thereof; or

10 (D) raise novel legal or policy issues aris11 ing out of legal mandates, the President’s prior12 ities, or the principles set forth in this Act.

Æ