tation shall be provided pursuant to that require-
ment; or 
‘‘(B) when other than under subsection (e) of 
this section rules are required by statute or at the 
discretion of the agency to be made on the record 
after opportunity for an agency hearing, sections 
556 and 557 shall apply, and paragraph (4), the re-
quirements of subsection (e) to receive comment out-
side of the procedures of sections 556 and 557, and 
the petition procedures of subsection (e)(6) shall not 
apply. 
The agency shall provide not fewer than 60 days for inter-
ested persons to submit written data, views, or argument 
(or 120 days in the case of a proposed major or high- 
impact rule). 
‘‘(4)(A) Within 30 days of publication of notice of 
proposed rule making, a member of the public may peti-
tion for a hearing in accordance with section 556 to deter-
mine whether any evidence or other information upon 
which the agency bases the proposed rule fails to comply 
with the Information Quality Act. 
‘‘(B)(i) The agency may, upon review of the petition, 
determine without further process to exclude from the rule 
making the evidence or other information that is the sub-
ject of the petition and, if appropriate, withdraw the pro-
posed rule. The agency shall promptly publish any such 
determination. 
‘‘(ii) If the agency does not resolve the petition under 
the procedures of clause (i), it shall grant any such peti-
tion that presents a prima facie case that evidence or other 
information upon which the agency bases the proposed 
rule fails to comply with the Information Quality Act, hold 
the requested hearing not later than 30 days after receipt 
of the petition, provide a reasonable opportunity for cross- 
examination at the hearing, and decide the issues pre-
sented by the petition not later than 60 days after receipt 
of the petition. The agency may deny any petition that 
it determines does not present such a prima facie case. 
‘‘(C) There shall be no judicial review of the agency’s 
disposition of issues considered and decided or determined 
under subparagraph (B)(ii) until judicial review of the 
agency’s final action. There shall be no judicial review of 
an agency’s determination to withdraw a proposed rule 
under subparagraph (B)(i) on the basis of the petition. 
‘‘(D) Failure to petition for a hearing under this 
paragraph shall not preclude judicial review of any claim 
based on the Information Quality Act under chapter 7 of 
this title. 
‘‘(e) HEARINGS
FOR HIGH-IMPACT RULES.—Fol-
lowing notice of a proposed rule making, receipt of com-
ments on the proposed rule, and any hearing held under 
subsection (d)(4), and before adoption of any high-impact 
rule, the agency shall hold a hearing in accordance with 
sections 556 and 557, unless such hearing is waived by 
all participants in the rule making other than the agency. 
The agency shall provide a reasonable opportunity for 
cross-examination at such hearing. The hearing shall be 
limited to the following issues of fact, except that partici-
pants at the hearing other than the agency may waive de-
termination of any such issue: 
‘‘(1) Whether the agency’s asserted factual 
predicate for the rule is supported by the evidence. 
‘‘(2) Whether there is an alternative to the pro-
posed rule that would achieve the relevant statutory 
objectives at a lower cost (including all costs to be 
considered under subsection (b)(6)) than the pro-
posed rule. 
‘‘(3) If there is more than one alternative to the 
proposed rule that would achieve the relevant statu-
tory objectives at a lower cost than the proposed 
rule, which alternative would achieve the relevant 
statutory objectives at the lowest cost. 
‘‘(4) Whether, if the agency proposes to adopt 
a rule that is more costly than the least costly alter-
native that would achieve the relevant statutory ob-