113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1582 
AN ACT 
To protect consumers by prohibiting the Administrator of 
the Environmental Protection Agency from promulgating 
as final certain energy-related rules that are estimated 
to cost more than $1 billion and will cause significant 
adverse effects to the economy. 
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 ‘‘Energy Consumers Re-
lief Act of 2013’’. 
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST FINALIZING CERTAIN EN-
ERGY-RELATED RULES THAT WILL CAUSE 
SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE EFFECTS TO THE 
ECONOMY. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may 
not promulgate as final an energy-related rule that is esti-
mated to cost more than $1 billion if the Secretary of En-
ergy determines under section 3(3) that the rule will cause 
significant adverse effects to the economy. 
SEC. 3. REPORTS AND DETERMINATIONS PRIOR TO PRO-
MULGATING AS FINAL CERTAIN ENERGY-RE-
LATED RULES. 
Before promulgating as final any energy-related rule 
that is estimated to cost more than $1 billion: 
(1) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Administrator 
of the Environmental Protection Agency shall sub-
mit to Congress a report (and transmit a copy to the 
Secretary of Energy) containing— 
(A) a copy of the rule; 
(B) a concise general statement relating to 
the rule;
(C) an estimate of the total costs of the 
rule, including the direct costs and indirect 
costs of the rule; 
(D)(i) an estimate of the total benefits of 
the rule and when such benefits are expected to 
be realized; 
(ii) a description of the modeling, the cal-
culations, the assumptions, and the limitations 
due to uncertainty, speculation, or lack of infor-
mation associated with the estimates under this 
subparagraph; and 
(iii) a certification that all data and docu-
ments relied upon by the Agency in developing 
such estimates— 
(I) have been preserved; and 
(II) are available for review by the 
public on the Agency’s Web site, except to 
the extent to which publication of such 
data and documents would constitute dis-
closure of confidential information in viola-
tion of applicable Federal law; 
(E) an estimate of the increases in energy 
prices, including potential increases in gasoline 
or electricity prices for consumers, that may re-
sult from implementation or enforcement of the 
rule; and 
(F) a detailed description of the employ-
ment effects, including potential job losses and 
shifts in employment, that may result from im-
plementation or enforcement of the rule. 
(2) INITIAL
DETERMINATION
ON
INCREASES 
AND IMPACTS.—The Secretary of Energy, in con-
sultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Com-
mission and the Administrator of the Energy Infor-
mation Administration, shall prepare an independent 
analysis to determine whether the rule will cause— 
(A) any increase in energy prices for con-
sumers, including low-income households, small 
businesses, and manufacturers; 
(B) any impact on fuel diversity of the Na-
tion’s electricity generation portfolio or on na-
tional, regional, or local electric reliability; 
(C) any adverse effect on energy supply, 
distribution, or use due to the economic or tech-
nical infeasibility of implementing the rule; or 
(D) any other adverse effect on energy 
supply, distribution, or use (including a short-
fall in supply and increased use of foreign sup-
plies).
(3) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATION ON ADVERSE 
EFFECTS TO THE ECONOMY.—If the Secretary of 
Energy determines, under paragraph (2), that the 
rule will cause an increase, impact, or effect de-
scribed in such paragraph, then the Secretary, in 
consultation with the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Com-
merce, the Secretary of Labor, and the Adminis-
trator of the Small Business Administration, shall— 
(A) determine whether the rule will cause 
significant adverse effects to the economy, tak-
ing into consideration— 
(i) the costs and benefits of the rule 
and limitations in calculating such costs 
and benefits due to uncertainty, specula-
tion, or lack of information; and 
(ii) the positive and negative impacts 
of the rule on economic indicators, includ-
ing those related to gross domestic prod-
uct, 
unemployment, 
wages, 
consumer 
prices, and business and manufacturing ac-
tivity; and 
(B) publish the results of such determina-
tion in the Federal Register.