I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1654
To amend chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, to require congressional 
approval of proposed rules considered by the Congress to be significant 
rules. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 7, 2003
Mr. SMITH of Michigan introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, to require 
congressional approval of proposed rules considered by 
the Congress to be significant rules.
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 ‘‘Legislative Oversight 
of Significant Regulations Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDING AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDING.—The Congress finds that oversight of 
significant rules will be enhanced if they are subject to
congressional review and approval after being proposed by 
an agency. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to ensure 
that before a significant rule takes effect—
(1) Congress is given an adequate opportunity 
to review the rule and ensure that it is in accordance 
with the intent of Congress in enacting the law 
under which the rule is proposed; and 
(2) Congress approves the rule in accordance 
with the procedures established by this Act. 
SEC. 3. REVIEW OF SIGNIFICANT RULES BY CONGRESS. 
Chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘CHAPTER 8—CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW 
OF AGENCY RULEMAKING
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘801. Review of significant rules by Congress. 
‘‘802. Congressional approval procedure for significant rules. 
‘‘803. Existing rules. 
‘‘804. Definitions. 
‘‘805. Exemption for monetary policy.
‘‘§ 801. Review of significant rules by Congress 
‘‘(a) A significant rule shall not take effect before the 
date of the enactment of a joint resolution described in 
section 802(a) comprised solely of the text of the signifi-
cant rule.
‘‘(2) Upon receipt of a report under paragraph (1), 
each House of Congress shall provide a copy of the report 
to the chairman and ranking minority party member of 
each committee with jurisdiction over the subject matter 
of the report. 
‘‘(c) If Congress fails to enact a joint resolution ap-
proving a proposed significant rule, no court or agency 
may infer any intent of Congress from any action or inac-
tion of Congress with regard to such rule or related stat-
ute. 
‘‘§ 802. Congressional approval procedure for signifi-
cant rules 
‘‘(a) Not later than 3 legislative days after the date 
on which an agency submits a report under section 801(b) 
containing the text of any proposed significant rule, the 
majority leader of each House of the Congress shall intro-
duce (by request) a joint resolution comprised solely of the 
text of that significant rule. If the joint resolution is not 
introduced in either House as provided in the preceding 
sentence, then any Member of that House may introduce 
the joint resolution. 
‘‘(b)(1) The joint resolution shall be referred to the 
appropriate committee of the House in which it is intro-
duced. The committee may report the joint resolution 
without substantive revision and with or without rec-
ommendation or with an adverse recommendation, or the 
committee may vote not to report the joint resolution. If 
the committee votes to order the joint resolution reported, 
it shall be reported not later than the end of the period 
(not to exceed 45 legislative days) established for consider-
ation of the joint resolution by the Speaker of the House 
of Representatives or the majority leader of the Senate, 
as the case may be. Except in the case of a joint resolution 
which a committee votes not to report, a committee failing 
to report a joint resolution within such period shall be 
automatically discharged from consideration of the joint 
resolution, and it shall be placed on the appropriate cal-
endar. 
‘‘(2) A vote on final passage of the joint resolution 
shall be taken in that House on or before the close of the 
90th legislative day after the date of the introduction of 
the joint resolution in that House. 
‘‘(3)(A) A motion in the House of Representatives to 
proceed to the consideration of a joint resolution under 
this section shall be highly privileged and not debatable. 
An amendment to the motion shall not be in order, nor 
shall it be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which 
the motion is agreed to or disagreed to. 
‘‘(B) Debate in the House of Representatives on a 
joint resolution under this section shall be limited to not
more than 4 hours, which shall be divided equally between 
those favoring and those opposing the joint resolution. A 
motion further to limit debate shall not be debatable. It 
shall not be in order to move to recommit a joint resolution 
under this section or to move to reconsider the vote by 
which the joint resolution is agreed to or disagreed to. 
‘‘(C) All appeals from the decisions of the chair relat-
ing to the application of the Rules of the House of Rep-
resentatives to the procedure relating to a joint resolution 
under this section shall be decided without debate. 
‘‘(D) Except to the extent specifically provided in the 
preceding provisions of this subsection, consideration of a 
joint resolution under this section shall be governed by the 
Rules of the House of Representatives applicable to other 
joint resolutions in similar circumstances. 
‘‘(4)(A) A motion in the Senate to proceed to the con-
sideration of a joint resolution under this section shall be 
privileged and not debatable. An amendment to the motion 
shall not be in order, nor shall it be in order to move to 
reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or 
disagreed to. 
‘‘(B) Debate in the Senate on a joint resolution under 
this section, and all debatable motions and appeals in con-
nection therewith, shall be limited to not more than 10 
hours. The time shall be equally divided between, and con-
trolled by, the majority leader and the minority leader or 
their designees. 
‘‘(C) Debate in the Senate on any debatable motion 
or appeal in connection with a joint resolution under this 
section shall be limited to not more than 1 hour, to be 
equally divided between, and controlled by, the mover and 
the manager of the joint resolution, except that in the 
event the manager of the joint resolution is in favor of 
any such motion or appeal, the time in opposition thereto, 
shall be controlled by the minority leader or his designee. 
Such leaders, or either of them, may, from time under 
their control on the passage of a joint resolution, allot ad-
ditional time to any Senator during the consideration of 
any debatable motion or appeal. 
‘‘(D) A motion in the Senate to further limit debate 
on a joint resolution under this section is not debatable. 
A motion to recommit a joint resolution under this section 
is not in order. 
‘‘(c) No amendment to a joint resolution considered 
under this section shall be in order in either the House 
of Representatives or the Senate. No motion to suspend
the application of this subsection shall be in order in either 
House, nor shall it be in order in either House for the 
presiding officer to entertain a request to suspend the ap-
plication of this subsection by unanimous consent.
‘‘(d) If, before the passage by one House of a joint 
resolution of that House described in subsection (a), that 
House receives from the other House a joint resolution 
described in subsection (a) comprised of the same text, 
then: 
‘‘(1) The procedure in that House shall be the 
same as if no joint resolution had been received from 
the other House. 
‘‘(2) The vote on final passage shall be on the 
joint resolution of the other House. 
‘‘(e) This section 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 is deemed a part of the 
rules of each House, respectively, but applicable only 
with respect to the procedure to be followed in that 
House in the case of a joint resolution described in 
subsection (a), and it supersedes other rules only to 
the extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and 
‘‘(2) with full recognition of the constitutional 
right of either House to change the rules (so far as 
relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 
in the same manner, and to the same extent as in 
the case of any other rule of that House.
‘‘§ 803. Existing rules 
‘‘(a) Any existing rule may be revised or revoked in 
accordance with this section if a petition for review so re-
quests. 
‘‘(b) If a petition for review is filed with the Clerk 
of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the 
Senate, the Clerk or the Secretary shall determine whether 
the petition meets the requirements of subsection (d). If 
the Clerk or the Secretary determines that a petition 
meets those requirements, he or she shall notify the major-
ity leader of that House. The majority leader so notified 
shall, within 3 legislative days, introduce a joint resolution 
(by request) that makes the revision or revocation of exist-
ing rules proposed by the petition upon the enactment of 
that joint resolution. If the joint resolution is not intro-
duced as provided in the preceding sentence, then any 
Member of that House may introduce the joint resolution. 
‘‘(c) Any joint resolution introduced under subsection 
(b) shall be considered in the House of Representatives 
and the Senate in accordance with the procedures respect-
ing a joint resolution set forth in section 802. 
‘‘(d) A petition for review under subsection (a) shall 
contain the following: 
‘‘(1) Any rule affected by the petition and the 
contents of that rule as it would exist if a joint reso-
lution revising or revoking that rule pursuant to the 
petition were enacted. 
‘‘(2) For a petition in the Senate, the signa-
tures of 30 Senators, or for a petition in the House 
of Representatives, the signatures of 120 Members. 
‘‘§ 804. Definitions 
For purposes of this chapter: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘agency’ has the meaning given 
that term in section 551 (relating to administrative 
procedure). 
‘‘(2)(A) The term ‘rule’ has the meaning given 
such term by section 551, except that such term 
does not include—
‘‘(i) any rule of particular applicability in-
cluding a rule that approves or prescribes—
‘‘(I) future rates, wages, prices, serv-
ices, or allowances therefor, 
‘‘(II) corporate or financial structures, 
reorganizations, mergers, or acquisitions 
thereof, or 
‘‘(III) accounting practices or disclo-
sures bearing on any of the foregoing, or 
‘‘(ii) any rule of agency organization, per-
sonnel, procedure, practice, or any routine mat-
ter.
‘‘(B) The term ‘final rule’ means any final rule 
or interim final rule. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘significant rule’ means any rule 
proposed by an agency that is specified or described 
as such in the Act that authorizes the rule. 
‘‘§ 805. Exemption for monetary policy 
Nothing in this chapter applies to any rule concerning 
monetary policy proposed or implemented by the Board 
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the Fed-
eral Open Market Committee.’’. 
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendment made by this Act shall take effect 
on the ninetieth day after the date of enactment of this 
Act. The former chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, 
as in effect immediately before that day shall continue to 
apply to rules submitted under that former chapter to 
each House of Congress as if this amendment had not 
been enacted.
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