I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1010
To improve congressional deliberation on proposed Federal private sector
mandates, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 11, 1997
Mr. CONDIT (for himself, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. SMITH of Michigan, Mr.
HERGER, and Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Rules
A BILL
To improve congressional deliberation on proposed Federal
private sector mandates, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Mandates Information
Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Before acting on proposed private sector
mandates, the Congress should carefully consider the
effects on consumers, workers, and small businesses.
(2) The Congress has often acted without ade-
quate information concerning the costs of private
sector mandates, instead focusing only on the bene-
fits.
(3) The costs of private sector mandates are
often borne in part by consumers, in the form of
higher prices and reduced availability of goods and
services.
(4) The costs of private sector mandates are
often borne in part by workers, in the form of lower
wages, reduced benefits, and fewer job opportunities.
(5) The costs of private sector mandates are
often borne in part by small businesses, in the form
of hiring disincentives and stunted growth.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are the following:
(1) To improve the quality of the Congress’ de-
liberation with respect to proposed mandates on the
private sector, by—
(A) providing the Congress with more com-
plete information about the effects of such man-
dates; and
(B) ensuring that the Congress acts on
such mandates only after focused deliberation
on the effects.
(2) To enhance the ability of the Congress to
distinguish between private sector mandates that
harm consumers, workers, and small businesses, and
mandates that help those groups.
SEC. 4. FEDERAL PRIVATE SECTOR MANDATES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) ESTIMATES.—Section 424(b)(2) of the Con-
gressional 
Budget 
Act 
of 
1974 
(2 
U.S.C.
658c(b)(2)) is amended—
(A) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘and’’
after the semicolon; and
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as
subparagraph (C), and inserting after subpara-
graph (A) the following:
‘‘(B) the impact (including any dispropor-
tionate impact in particular regions or indus-
tries) on consumers, workers, and small busi-
nesses, of the Federal private sector mandates
in the bill or joint resolution, including—
‘‘(i) an analysis of the effect of the
Federal private sector mandates in the bill
or joint resolution on consumer prices and
on the actual supply of goods and services
in consumer markets;
causes the thresholds specified in section 424
(a)(1) or (b)(1)’’; and
(B) by inserting ‘‘, in the case of Federal
intergovernmental 
mandates 
exceeding 
the
thresholds specified in section 424(a)(1)’’ after
‘‘unless’’.
(4) APPLICATION
RELATING
TO
APPROPRIA-
TIONS
COMMITTEES.—Section 425(c)(1)(B) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C.
658d(c)(1)(B)) is amended—
(A) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘intergovern-
mental’’;
(B) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘intergovern-
mental’’;
(C) in clause (iii) by striking ‘‘intergovern-
mental’’; and
(D) in clause (iv) by striking ‘‘intergovern-
mental’’.
(5) APPLICATION
RELATING
TO
CONGRES-
SIONAL BUDGET OFFICE.—Section 427 of the Con-
gressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658f) is
amended by striking ‘‘intergovernmental’’.
(b) RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—
Clause 5 of rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Rep-
resentatives (as added by section 107 of the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1514)) is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘section 424(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘section
424 (a)(1) or (b)(1)’’.
(c) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.—This sec-
tion is enacted by Congress—
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of
the Senate and the House of Representatives, re-
spectively, and as such it shall be considered as part
of the rules of such House, respectively, and shall
supersede other rules only to the extent that they
are inconsistent therewith; and
(2) with full recognition of the constitutional
right of either House to change such rules (so far
as relating to such House) at any time, in the same
manner, and to the same extent as in the case of
any other rule of each House.
SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that any unfunded
mandates that are determined by the Director of the Con-
gressional Budget Office to exceed the applicable threshold
under section 424 (a)(1) or (b)(1) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658f(a)(1), 658f(b)(1))
should be financed through reduced taxes, tax abatements,
or direct compensation by the Federal Government.
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