I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1507 

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

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2023 

Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. 

TAKANO, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. LIEU, Ms. NORTON, and Ms. SCANLON) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, 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 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: 


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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. 


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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 signficance, 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)— 


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

2 inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) After notice required’’; and 

4 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) In the case of any submission under para6 graph (1) by an interested person that includes a 

7 scientific, economic, or technical study or research 

8 (or a citation thereto) that the interested person 

9 funded directly or indirectly, or the nonpublic results 

10 of any scientific, economic, or technical study or re11 search that the interested person funded directly or 

12 indirectly, the interested person shall disclose to the 

13 agency, the following: 

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

15 received by the person who conducted the study 

16 or research. 

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

18 referred to in subparagraph (A). 

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

20 or revise the study or research, and the extent 

21 of that review or revision. 

22 ‘‘(D) Any financial relationship between 

23 the person who conducted the study or re24 search, and any person that would be affected 

25 by the proposed rule.’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (c), in the first sentence, by 

2 inserting ‘‘, subject to subsections (f) and (h),’’ after 

3 ‘‘the agency shall’’; and 

4 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

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

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

7 an interested person relating to a proposed rule or final 

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

9 or research by the interested person not published in a 

10 publicly available peer-reviewed publication, or any result 

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

12 by the interested person not published in a publicly avail13 able peer-reviewed publication, the interested person, in 

14 making that submission, shall disclose to the agency— 

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

16 research, as applicable; 

17 ‘‘(2) any entity that sponsored the study or re18 search; 

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

20 study or research were reviewed by a person that 

21 may be affected by the rulemaking to which the sub22 mission relates; 

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

24 paragraph (3); and 


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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 rulemaking 

6 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 rulemaking) 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. 


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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 rulemaking; or 

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

8 agency with respect to that rulemaking 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 


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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 


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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 (or, if the agency 

19 does not provide the regulatory action to the Office under 

20 that section, after publishing the general notice of pro21 posed rulemaking with respect to the action under section 

22 553(b) of title 5, United States Code), the agency shall 

23 publish in the Federal Register, on the public docket of 

24 the agency, and on the internet website of the agency a 


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1 statement regarding the decision by the agency to with2 draw the action. 

3 (b) CONTENTS.—A statement required under para4 graph (1) 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 other Federal official. 

15 SEC. 8. NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING. 

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

17 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) in section 561, in the first sentence, by in19 serting ‘‘between agencies and Federal, State, local, 

20 or tribal governments. This subchapter shall apply 

21 only to information negotiations between Federal, 

22 State, local, or tribal governments’’ after ‘‘informal 

23 rule making process’’; 

24 (2) in section 563— 

25 (A) in subsection (a)— 


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

2 ‘‘Federal, State, local, or tribal govern3 ment’’ after ‘‘identifiable’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘persons who’’ and inserting ‘‘representa6 tives of Federal, State, local, and tribal 

7 governments that’’; and 

8 (B) in subsection (b)— 

9 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (I) in subparagraph (A)— 

11 (aa) by striking ‘‘persons 

12 who’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal, 

13 State, local, or tribal govern14 ments that’’; and 

15 (bb) by striking ‘‘, including 

16 residents of rural areas’’; and 

17 (II) in subparagraph (B)— 

18 (aa) by striking ‘‘with such 

19 persons’’ and inserting ‘‘with rep20 resentatives of those govern21 ments’’; and 

22 (bb) by striking ‘‘to such 

23 persons’’ and inserting ‘‘to those 

24 governments’’; and 


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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— 


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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 ‘‘negotiated 

17 rule making’’. 

18 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) BALANCED BUDGET ACT OF 1997.—Section 

20 1856(b)(1) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (42 

21 U.S.C. 1395w–26) is amended by striking ‘‘, using 

22 a negotiated rule making process under subchapter 

23 III of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code’’. 

24 (2) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

25 ACT OF 1965.—The Elementary and Secondary EduVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1507.IH H1507

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1 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is 

2 amended— 

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

4 (i) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘sub5 sections (b) through (d)’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘subsection (b)’’; 

7 (ii) by striking subsections (b) and 

8 (c); and 

9 (iii) by redesignating subsections (d) 

10 and (e) as subsections (b) and (c), respec11 tively; 

12 (B) by repealing section 1602; and 

13 (C) in section 8204(c)(1), by striking 

14 ‘‘using a negotiated rulemaking process to de15 velop regulations for implementation no later 

16 than the 2017–2018 academic year, shall de17 fine’’ and inserting ‘‘shall, for implementation 

18 no later than the 2017–2018 academic year, de19 fine’’. 

20 (3) HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND AC21 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 1996.—Section 216(b) of the 

22 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 

23 of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7b note) to read as fol24 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(b) RULEMAKING FOR RISK-SHARING EXCEP2 TION.— 

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

4 Health and Human Services (in this subsection re5 ferred to as the ‘Secretary’) shall establish standards 

6 relating to the exception for risk-sharing arrange7 ments to the antikickback penalties described in sec8 tion 1128B(b)(3)(F) of the Social Security Act, as 

9 added by subsection (a). 

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

11 standards relating to the exception for risk-sharing 

12 arrangements to the anti-kickback penalties under 

13 subparagraph (A), the Secretary— 

14 ‘‘(A) shall consult with the Attorney Gen15 eral and representatives of the hospital, physi16 cian, other health practitioner, and health plan 

17 communities, and other interested parties; and 

18 ‘‘(B) shall take into account— 

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

20 the size and type of arrangement; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the frequency of assessment and 

22 distribution of incentives; 

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

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) the extent to which the risk2 sharing arrangement provides incentives to 

3 control the cost and quality of health care 

4 services.’’. 

5 (4) HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.—The 

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

7 seq.) is amended— 

8 (A) in section 207— 

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

10 (ii) by redesignating subsection (d) as 

11 subsection (c); 

12 (B) in section 422(g)(1)— 

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

14 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

16 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period; and 

17 (iii) by striking subparagraph (D); 

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

19 ‘‘as determined in the negotiated rulemaking 

20 process under section 492’’; 

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

22 ‘‘not later than two years after the completion 

23 of the negotiated rulemaking process required 

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1 ments to this Act made by the Higher Edu2 cation Opportunity Act,’’; and 

3 (E) in section 492— 

4 (i) in the section heading, by striking 

5 ‘‘NEGOTIATED’’; and 

6 (ii) by amending subsection (b) to 

7 read as follows: 

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

9 the advice and recommendations described in subsection 

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

11 the 360-day period described in section 437(e) of the Gen12 eral Education Provisions Act (12 U.S.C. 1232(e)).’’. 

13 (5) HOUSING ACT OF 1949.—Section 515(r)(3) 

14 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘in accordance with’’ and all 

16 that follows through the period at the end and in17 serting ‘‘under the rulemaking authority contained 

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

19 (6) MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVA20 TION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.—Section 305(g) of 

21 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

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

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

24 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

25 (i) by striking ‘‘(A)’’; and 


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1 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

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

3 margins accordingly; and 

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

5 by striking the second sentence. 

6 (7) MANDATORY PRICE REPORTING ACT OF

7 2010.—Section 2(b) of the Mandatory Price Report8 ing Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–239; 124 Stat. 

9 2501) is amended— 

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

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

12 inserting ‘‘WHOLESALE PORK CUTS.—Chapter 

13 3’’; and 

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

15 (4). 

16 (8) PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE

17 CARE ACT.—Section 5602 of the Patient Protection 

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

19 amended— 

20 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

21 ‘‘NEGOTIATED’’; 

22 (B) by striking subsections (b) through 

23 (h); 

24 (C) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (i) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

2 subsection (b) and adjusting the margins 

3 accordingly; and 

4 (ii) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (I) by striking ‘‘(1) IN GEN6 ERAL.—’’; and 

7 (II) by redesignating subpara8 graphs (A) and (B) as paragraphs (1) 

9 and (2), respectively; and 

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

11 by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub12 section (a)’’. 

13 (9) PRICE-ANDERSON AMENDMENTS ACT OF

14 1988.—Section 170 of the Atomic Energy Act of 

15 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210) is amended— 

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

17 (B) in subsection (a)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—’’; and 

19 (ii) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

20 subsection (b) and adjusting the margins 

21 accordingly. 

22 (10) SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—Title XVIII of 

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

24 amended— 


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

2 1395m(l)(1)), by striking ‘‘through a negotiated 

3 rulemaking process described in title 5, United 

4 States Code,’’; 

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

6 26(a)); 

7 (i) by striking paragraphs (2) through 

8 (9); 

9 (ii) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (I) by striking ‘‘(A) IN GEN11 ERAL.—’’; 

12 (II) by striking ‘‘and using a ne13 gotiated rulemaking process under 

14 subchapter III of chapter 5 of title 5, 

15 United States Code,’’; and 

16 (III) by redesignating subpara17 graph (B) as paragraph (2) and ad18 justing the margins accordingly; and 

19 (iii) in paragraph (2), as so redesig20 nated, by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’. 

22 (11) TITLE 5.—The table of sections for sub23 chapter III of chapter 5 of title 5, United States 

24 Code, is amended by striking the item relating to 

25 section 564 and inserting the following: 

‘‘564. Publication of notice.’’. 


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

2 49, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (A) by striking ‘‘shall—’’ and all that fol4 lows through ‘‘issue’’ and inserting ‘‘shall 

5 issue’’; 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a pe7 riod; and 

8 (C) by striking subparagraph (B). 

9 (13) TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT.—Sec10 tion 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 

11 U.S.C. 2607(a)) is amended by— 

12 (A) striking paragraph (6); and 

13 (B) redesignating paragraph (7) as para14 graph (6). 

15 (14) UNITED STATES HOUSING ACT OF 1937.— 

16 Section 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

17 (42 U.S.C. 1437g) is amended by striking sub18 section (f). 

19 SEC. 9. STREAMLINING OIRA REVIEW. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph 

21 (2), if the Office commences a review of a significant regu22 latory action, the Office shall complete such review not 

23 more than 60 days after the date on which the Office re24 ceives the significant regulatory action. 


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

2 period described in paragraph (1) by a single 60-day pe3 riod if the Office provides the agency with, and makes 

4 publicly available, a written justification for the extension. 

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

6 Office waives review of a significant regulatory action of 

7 an agency without a request for further consideration or 

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

9 review within the time frame described in paragraph (1) 

10 or (2), the agency may publish the significant regulatory 

11 action in the Federal Register. 

12 SEC. 10. PENALIZING PUBLIC COMPANIES THAT SUBMIT 

13 FALSE INFORMATION TO AGENCIES. 

14 Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, as amend15 ed by sections 3 and 4 of this Act, is amended by adding 

16 at the end the following: 

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

18 under section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

19 (15 U.S.C. 78m) that makes a submission under sub20 section (c) knowing the same— 

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

22 or fraudulent statement or representation; or 

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

24 statement or representation being false or mis25 leading, 


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

2 for a first violation. 

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

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

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

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

7 may be excluded from the record and from consideration 

8 by the agency or otherwise disregarded, and such submis9 sion (or any amendment to such submission) may not be 

10 resubmitted thereafter. An exclusion or other disregard of 

11 a submission pursuant to this subsection shall not affect 

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

13 accorded to agency action by a court reviewing such ac14 tion. 

15 ‘‘(k) Any entity required to file an annual report pur16 suant to section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 

17 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m), shall include in a submission 

18 under subsection (c)(2) the annual report filed in the year 

19 previous to such submission and the quarterly report filed 

20 most recently prior to such submission.’’. 

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

22 ADVOCATE. 

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

24 Code, is amended as follows: 

25 (1) By adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 505. Office of the Public Advocate 

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

3 Office of Management and Budget an office to be known 

4 as the ‘Office of the Public Advocate’. 

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

6 the Public Advocate shall be under the supervision of an 

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

8 shall— 

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

10 the advice and consent of the Senate; 

11 ‘‘(2) report to the President; 

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

13 rate as the highest rate of basic pay established for 

14 the Senior Executive Service under section 5382; 

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

16 consumer protection, or administrative law; and 

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

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

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

20 Advocate shall include— 

21 ‘‘(1) assisting agencies in soliciting public par22 ticipation in the rulemaking process; 

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

24 rulemaking process; 


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

2 public to identify problems and improve public par3 ticipation in the rulemaking process; 

4 ‘‘(4) conducting and publishing research on so5 cial equity impacts of the rulemaking process; 

6 ‘‘(5) developing and coordinating social equity 

7 definitions across the executive branch; 

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

9 public through comments submitted through the 

10 process described in section 553 of title 5, United 

11 States Code, performing, not later than 30 days 

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

13 assessment (as such term is defined in the Stop Cor14 porate Capture Act) for a proposed rule; and 

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

16 populations that have not historically participated in 

17 the rulemaking process may be better included in 

18 the rulemaking process, including by— 

19 ‘‘(A) recommending and implementing new 

20 outreach plans; 

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

22 Tribal governments, and with community-based 

23 organizations to propagate information about 

24 rules changes; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) ensuring information about agency 

2 rulemaking and changes to rules are written in 

3 clear, accessible language that is accessible in 

4 multiple languages. 

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

6 the date on which the National Public Advocate is ap7 pointed under this subsection or 180 days after the date 

8 of enactment of this subsection, whichever is later, the Na9 tional Public Advocate shall make rules to carry out this 

10 section.’’. 

11 (2) In the table of sections for such chapter, by 

12 inserting after the item relating to section 504 the 

13 following: 

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

14 SEC. 12. SCOPE OF REVIEW. 

15 Section 706 of title 5, United States Code, is amend16 ed— 

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

18 paragraph (1)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘agency action.’’ and in20 serting ‘‘agency action. If a statute that an 

21 agency administers is silent or ambiguous as to 

22 the proper construction of a particular term or 

23 provision or set of terms or provisions, and an 

24 agency has followed the applicable procedures 

25 in subchapter II of chapter 5, has otherwise 


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1 lawfully adjudicated a matter, or has followed 

2 the corresponding procedural provisions of the 

3 relevant statute, as applicable, a reviewing court 

4 shall defer to the agency’s reasonable or per5 missible interpretation of that statute, regard6 less of the significance of the related agency ac7 tion or a possible future agency action.’’; and 

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

9 and inserting: 

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

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

12 ‘‘(b) UNREASONABLE DELAY.—For purposes of sub13 section (a)(1), unreasonable delay shall include— 

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

15 proposed rulemaking before the date that is 1 year 

16 after the date of enactment of the legislation man17 dating the rulemaking, where no deadline for the 

18 rulemaking was specified in the enacted law; 

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

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

21 year after the date on which the proposed rule was 

22 published in the Federal Register; 

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

24 final rule before the date that is 1 year after the im25 plementation date published in the Federal Register 


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1 or, if no implementation date was provided, before 

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

3 final rule was published in the Federal Register; and 

4 ‘‘(4) when an agency has not issued or imple5 mented a final rule, upon a showing of good cause 

6 therefor.’’. 

7 SEC. 13. EXPANDING PUBLIC AWARENESS OF 

8 RULEMAKINGS. 

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

10 States Code, as amended by section 8 of this Act, is 

11 amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(l)(1) The head of each agency shall take such ac13 tions as may be necessary to— 

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

15 of each rulemaking proceeding; 

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

17 of each proposed rule; 

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

19 published; and 

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

21 rulemaking participants, with respect to each rule22 making. 

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

24 on which an agency publishes a notice of proposed rule25 making or a final rule under this section, the agency shall 


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1 notify interested persons of the publication, including by 

2 using contact information that interested persons have 

3 provided to the agency and by publishing such notice on 

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

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

6 this section shall take effect beginning on the date that 

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

8 SEC. 14. PUBLIC PETITIONS. 

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

10 amended— 

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

12 and 

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

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

15 which an agency receives more than 100,000 signa16 tures on a single petition under paragraph (1), the 

17 agency shall provide a written response that in18 cludes— 

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

20 has engaged or is engaging in the requested 

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

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

23 requested issuance, amendment, or repeal of a 

24 rule, a written explanation for not engaging in 

25 the requested issuance, amendment, or repeal. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Not later than 30 days after the effective 

2 date of this paragraph, the head of each agency shall 

3 establish and publish procedures for the processing 

4 of a petition under paragraph (1), including— 

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

6 Register, and other Federal websites to educate 

7 the public about how to file petition under para8 graph (1); and 

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

10 internet website of the agency, or on any exist11 ing Government-wide internet website, of any 

12 petition filed under paragraph (1). 

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

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

15 SEC. 15. AMENDMENT TO CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT. 

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

17 amended— 

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

19 (2) by striking paragraph (2). 

20 SEC. 16. REINSTATEMENT OF DISAPPROVED RULES. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

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

23 which a joint resolution of disapproval was enacted 

24 under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, be25 fore the date of enactment of this Act; and 


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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 agency shall take into account distribuVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1507.IH H1507

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1 tional effects and the social equity impact of a rule when 

2 issuing such rule. 

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

4 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

5 following: ‘‘When acting under paragraph (2)(A), the 

6 court shall not require an agency to demonstrate that the 

7 challenged action meets a cost-benefit analysis standard 

8 except where explicitly required by law.’’. 

9 SEC. 18. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

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

12 ‘‘rule’’ shall have the meanings given such terms in 

13 section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 

14 (2) INTERESTED PERSON.—The term ‘‘inter15 ested person’’ includes individuals, partnerships, cor16 porations, associations, or public or private organiza17 tions of any character other than an agency. 

18 (3) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of19 fice of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Of20 fice of Management and Budget. 

21 (4) REGULATORY ACTION.—The term ‘‘regu22 latory action’’ means any substantive action by an 

23 agency that promulgates or is expected to lead to the 

24 promulgation of a final rule or regulation, including 


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1 notices of inquiry, advance notices of proposed rule2 making, and notices of proposed rulemaking. 

3 (5) SIGNIFICANT REGULATORY ACTION.—The 

4 term ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ means any reg5 ulatory action that is likely to result in a rule that 

6 may— 

7 (A) have an annual effect on the economy 

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

9 a material way the economy, a sector of the 

10 economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the 

11 environment, public health or safety, or State, 

12 local, or tribal governments or communities; 

13 (B) create a serious inconsistency or other14 wise interfere with an action taken or planned 

15 by another agency; 

16 (C) materially alter the budgetary impact 

17 of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan pro18 grams or the rights and obligations of recipi19 ents thereof; or 

20 (D) raise novel legal or policy issues aris21 ing out of legal mandates, the President’s prior22 ities, or the general principles of regulation cus23 tomarily practiced by the executive branch. 

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

25 equity impact’’ means any impact of a proposed 


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1 rule, whether intended or unintended, that might 

2 reasonably be expected to disproportionately affect a 

3 population of interested persons that is part of a 

4 protected class or set of protected classes, based on 

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

6 based on credible statistical projections and data on 

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

8 (7) SOCIAL EQUITY ASSESSMENT.—The term 

9 ‘‘social equity assessment’’ means a written and pub10 licly available report that shall specifically consider 

11 any social equity impact, positive or negative, that 

12 the proposed policy might have on a population of 

13 interested persons who share a common char14 acteristic that renders them part of a protected 

15 class, where that population was previously subjected 

16 to discriminatory or exclusionary practices by the 

17 agency promulgating the rule or where credible de18 mographic evidence demonstrates significant dispari19 ties experienced by different populations within a 

20 protected class. 

Æ 


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