‘‘§ 639. Regulatory priorities
‘‘(a) In exercising authority under any laws protect-
ing human health and safety or the environment, the head
of an agency shall prioritize the use of the resources avail-
able under such laws to address the risks to human health,
safety, and natural resources that—
‘‘(1) the agency determines are the most seri-
ous; and
‘‘(2) can be addressed in a cost-effective man-
ner, with the goal of achieving the greatest overall
net reduction in risks with the public and private
sector resources to be expended.
‘‘(b) In identifying the sources of the most serious
risks under subsection (a), the head of the agency shall
consider, at a minimum—
‘‘(1) the plausible likelihood and severity of the
effect; and
‘‘(2) the plausible number and groups of indi-
viduals potentially affected.
‘‘(c) The head of the agency shall incorporate the pri-
orities identified in subsection (a) into the budget, strate-
gic planning, and research activities of the agency by, in
the agency’s annual budget request to Congress—
‘‘(1) identifying which risks the agency has de-
termined are the most serious and can be addressed
in a cost-effective manner under subsection (a), and
the basis for that determination;
‘‘(2) explicitly identifying how the agency’s re-
quested funds will be used to address those risks;
‘‘(3) identifying any statutory, regulatory, or
administrative obstacles to allocating agency re-
sources in accordance with the priorities established
under subsection (a); and
‘‘(4) explicitly considering the requirements of
subsection (a) when preparing the agency’s regu-
latory agenda or other strategic plan, and providing
an explanation of how the agenda or plan reflects
those requirements and the comparative risk analy-
sis when publishing any such agenda or strategic
plan.
‘‘(d) In March of each year, the head of each agency
shall submit to Congress specific recommendations for re-
pealing or modifying laws that would better enable the
agency to prioritize its activities to address the risks to
human health, safety, and the environment that are the
most serious and can be addressed in a cost-effective man-
ner consistent with the requirements of subsection (a).
‘‘§ 640. Establishment of program
‘‘(a) The President shall develop a systematic pro-
gram for the peer review of work products covered by sub-
section (c), which program shall be used uniformly across
the agencies.
‘‘(b) The program under subsection (a)—
‘‘(1) shall provide for the creation of peer re-
view panels consisting of independent and external
experts who are broadly representative and balanced
to the extent feasible;
‘‘(2) shall not exclude peer reviewers merely be-
cause they represent entities that may have a poten-
tial interest in the outcome, if that interest is fully
disclosed;
‘‘(3) shall exclude, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, any peer reviewer who has been involved in
any previous analysis of the tests and evidence pre-
sented for certification by the peer review panel; and
‘‘(4) shall provide for a timely completed peer
review, meeting agency deadlines, which contains a
balanced presentation of all considerations, including
minority reports and an agency response to all sig-
nificant peer review comments.
‘‘(c) The peer review and the agency’s responses shall
be made available to the public and shall be made part
of the administrative record for purposes of judicial review
of any final agency action.
‘‘(d) The proceedings of peer review panels under this
section shall be subject to the applicable provisions of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
‘‘SUBCHAPTER IV—EXECUTIVE OVERSIGHT
‘‘§ 651. Procedures
‘‘The President shall—
‘‘(1) establish procedures for agency compliance
with subchapters II and III; and
‘‘(2) monitor, review, and ensure agency imple-
mentation of such procedures.
‘‘§ 652. Promulgation and adoption
‘‘(a) Procedures established pursuant to section 651
shall only be implemented after opportunity for public
comment. Any such procedures shall be consistent with the
prompt completion of rulemaking proceedings.
‘‘(b)(1) If procedures established pursuant to section
651 include review of preliminary or final regulatory anal-
yses to ensure that they comply with subchapters II and
III, the time for any such review of a preliminary regu-
latory analysis shall not exceed 30 days following the re-
ceipt of the analysis by the President or by an officer to
whom the authority granted under section 651 has been
delegated pursuant to section 653.