(3) A description of the actions, if any, taken
by the committee to avoid the reduction in protec-
tion of the environment.
(4) Any statement received under section 5.
SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL.
(a) STATEMENT.—For each bill or joint resolution of
a public character reported by any committee of the House
of Representatives or the Senate, and for each report by
a committee of conference, the Comptroller General of the
United States, upon a request of the committee or a ma-
jority of the members of the minority party or majority
party of the committee, shall, prior to the filing of the
report, prepare and submit to the committee a statement
assessing the extent to which the provisions of the bill,
joint resolution, or conference report reduce protection of
the environment.
(b) ASSISTANCE TO COMMITTEES AND STUDIES.—At
the request of any committee of the Senate or the House
of Representatives, the Comptroller General shall, to the
extent practicable, consult with and assist such committee
in assessing the extent to which the provisions of a bill,
joint resolution, or conference report reduce the protection
of the environment.
SEC. 6. DUTIES OF OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT OF BUDGET.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall ensure that each depart-
ment or agency of the United States—
(1) collects and catalogs available information
that would assist in assessing whether any provision
in a bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference
report before Congress would reduce protection of
the environment;
(2) coordinates, organizes and facilitates the
availability of such information for use by Congress;
and
(3) ensures that such information is readily
available to the Comptroller General for purposes of
fulfilling duties under section 5 of this Act or for
other purposes.
(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Director of the Of-
fice of Management and Budget shall ensure that each
department or agency of the United States makes infor-
mation collected and cataloged pursuant to subsection (a)
readily available to the public.
SEC. 7. LEGISLATION SUBJECT TO POINT OF ORDER.
(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be in order in the
House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any
bill, joint resolution, or conference report that is reported
by a committee unless the committee has complied with
section 4.
(b) PROCEDURE IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA-
TIVES.—It shall not be in order in the House of Rep-
resentatives to consider a rule or order that waives the
application of subsection (a).
SEC. 8. DEBATE ON PROVISIONS REDUCING PROTECTION.
(a) AMENDMENT OF HOUSE RULES.—Clause 6(c) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives
is amended by striking the period at the end of subpara-
graph (2) and inserting a semicolon and by adding at the
end thereof:
‘‘(3) a rule or order that would prevent a motion to
strike from any bill, joint resolution, or amendment a pro-
vision that reduces protection of the environment (within
the meaning of section 3 of the Defense of the Environ-
ment Act of 1999).’’.
(b) VOTE IN SENATE.—Notwithstanding the adop-
tion of any rule or motion to limit or close debate it shall
always be in order, as question of high privilege in the
Senate, to move to strike from any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report any provision that re-
duces protection of the environment (within the meaning
of section 3 of the Defense of the Environment Act of
1999). Such motion shall take precedence over a motion
for the previous question on such bill, joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report, and it shall be in order
to debate any such motion for 40 minutes, one-half of such
time shall be given to debate in favor of, and one-half of
such times in opposition to, such motion.
(c) CONFERENCE REPORTS AND SENATE AMEND-
MENTS.—Clause 10 of Rules XXII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives is amended as follows:
(1) In subparagraph (1) of paragraph (a), in
paragraph (b), and in subparagraph (2) of para-
graph (d) after ‘‘nongermane matter’’ insert ‘‘or
matter reducing the protection of the environment’’.
(2) Before the period at the end of subpara-
graph (2) of paragraph (a), insert ‘‘or asserting that
such proposition contains any provision that reduces
protection of the environment (within the meaning of
section 3 of the Defense of the Environment Act of
1999)’’.
(3) In paragraph (e) after ‘‘nongermane mat-
ter’’ insert ‘‘or matter reducing the protection of the
environment’’.
(d) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.—The pro-
visions of this section and sections 4 and 7 are enacted
by Congress—
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of
the House of Representatives and the Senate, re-
spectively, and as such they shall be considered as
part of the rules of such House, respectively, and
such rules shall supersede other rules only to the ex-
tent 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. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect on the date of enactment.
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