IB 
Union Calendar No. 226 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 357 
[Report No. 118–282] 
To require the head of an agency to issue and sign any rule issued by 
that agency, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 13, 2023 
Mr. CLINE (for himself, Mr. GOLDEN of Maine, Mr. PERRY, Mrs. MILLER of 
Illinois, Mr. GREEN of Tennessee, and Mr. OGLES) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
NOVEMBER 29, 2023 
Additional sponsors: Mr. BRECHEEN, Mr. NORMAN, Ms. MACE, Mr. CLOUD, 
Mr. GUEST, Mr. CRENSHAW, Ms. HAGEMAN, Mr. BIGGS, Mrs. LESKO, 
Mr. DONALDS, Mr. CRANE, Mr. FRY, Mr. GOODEN of Texas, and Mr. 
ALFORD 
NOVEMBER 29, 2023 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 13, 2023] 
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A BILL 
To require the head of an agency to issue and sign any 
rule issued by that agency, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ensuring Accountability 
in Agency Rulemaking Act’’. 
SEC. 2. RULEMAKING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) APPROVAL REQUIRED.— 
(1) RULES
PROMULGATED
BY
SENATE
CON-
FIRMED APPOINTEE.—Except as provided in para-
graph (3), any rule promulgated under section 553 of 
title 5, United States Code, shall be issued and signed 
by an individual appointed by the President, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
(2) INITIATION
OF
RULEMAKING
AND
REGU-
LATORY AGENDA.—Except as provided in paragraph 
(3), any rule initiated under section 553 of title 5, 
United States Code, shall be initiated by a senior ap-
pointee. 
(3) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) or (2) does not 
apply if the head of an agency— 
(A) determines, on a nondelegable basis, 
that compliance with the relevant paragraph 
would impede public safety or security; 
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(B) submits to the Administrator a notifica-
tion disclosing the reasons for the exemption; 
and 
(C) publishes such notification, consistent 
with public safety, security, and privacy inter-
ests, in the Federal Register. 
(b) OVERSIGHT.— 
(1) AGENCY
COMPLIANCE.—The head of each 
agency shall ensure that the issuance of any agency 
rule promulgated under section 553 of title 5, United 
States Code, adheres to the requirements of this sec-
tion. 
(2) OIRA GUIDANCE
AND
COMPLIANCE.—The 
Administrator shall provide guidance on the imple-
mentation of and shall monitor agency compliance 
with this section. 
(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section may not 
be construed to impair or otherwise affect the functions of 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relat-
ing to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) 
ADMINISTRATOR.—The 
term 
‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Office of In-
formation and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Of-
fice of Management and Budget (OMB). 
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(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the mean-
ing given that term under section 551 of title 5, 
United States Code. 
(3) RULE.—The term ‘‘rule’’ has the meaning 
given that term in section 551 of title 5, United 
States Code, and does not include any rule of agency 
organization, procedure, or practice that does not sub-
stantially affect the rights or obligations of non-agen-
cy parties. 
(4) SENIOR APPOINTEE.—The term ‘‘senior ap-
pointee’’ means an individual appointed by the Presi-
dent, or performing the functions and duties of an of-
fice that requires appointment by the President, or a 
non-career member of the Senior Executive Service 
(or equivalent agency system). 
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Union Calendar No. 226 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 357 
[Report No. 118–282] 
A BILL 
To require the head of an agency to issue and sign 
any rule issued by that agency, and for other 
purposes. 
NOVEMBER 29, 2023 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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