Transparency and Honesty in Energy Regulations Act of 2022
Bill: S.4596 | Sponsor: Sen. Lankford, James (R-OK)
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Transparency and Honesty in Energy Regulations Act of 2022
This bill prohibits specified federal entities (e.g., the Department of Energy) from considering the social cost of carbon, methane, nitrous oxide, or greenhouse gas as part of any cost-benefit analysis required under any law or specified Executive Orders. In addition, such social costs must not be considered by such entities (1) in rulemaking, (2) in the issuance of guidance, (3) in taking other agency action, (4) or as a justification for any rulemaking, guidance document, or agency action.

To prohibit the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the 
  Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of the Interior, the 
Secretary of Transportation, the Chair of the Council on Environmental 
Quality, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from considering, 
  in taking any action, the social cost of carbon, the social cost of 
 methane, the social cost of nitrous oxide, or the social cost of any 
 other greenhouse gas, unless compliant with Office of Management and 
                Budget guidance, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Transparency and Honesty in Energy 
Regulations Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) as a tool to justify Federal actions by the Secretary 
        of Energy, the Administrator, the Secretary of the Interior, 
        the Secretary of Transportation, the Chair of the Council on 
        Environmental Quality, and the Chair of the Federal Energy 
        Regulatory Commission to address greenhouse gas emissions, 
        including the regulation or prohibition of the exploration, 
        mining, production, and use of coal and other fossil fuels as 
        energy sources, the social cost of greenhouse gases, 
        specifically the social cost of carbon, the social cost of 
        methane, and the social cost of nitrous oxide, represents the 
        hypothetical cost of 1 incremental ton of carbon dioxide, 
        methane, or nitrous oxide emissions in a given year;
            (2) the document of the Office of Management and Budget 
        entitled ``Circular A-4'' and dated September 17, 2003--
                    (A) guides Federal agencies on the development of 
                regulatory impact analysis required under Executive 
                Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; relating to regulatory 
                planning and review) and other authorities; and
                    (B) instructs Federal agencies to include discount 
                rates of 3 and 7 percent and evaluate the costs and 
                benefits of the regulatory action that accrue to 
                citizens and residents of the United States;
            (3) first developed in 2009 by an interagency working group 
        that included the Department of Energy, the Environmental 
        Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and the 
        Council on Environmental Quality, the estimates for the social 
        cost of carbon and the subsequently developed social cost of 
        methane and social cost of nitrous oxide fail to comply with 
        the 3- and 7-percent discount rates prescribed by the document 
        of the Office of Management and Budget entitled ``Circular A-
        4'' and dated September 17, 2003;
            (4) while the document of the Office of Management and 
        Budget entitled ``Circular A-4'' and dated September 17, 2003, 
        specifies that, in carrying out an evaluation of the global 
        effects of a rule, regulation, or action, the evaluation shall 
        be reported separately from domestic costs and benefits of that 
        rule, regulation, or action, the social cost of carbon, the 
        social cost of methane, and the social cost of nitrous oxide 
        instead calculates the global benefits in lieu of, not in 
        addition to, the domestic costs of a rule, regulation, or 
        action;
            (5) the use of the estimates of the social cost of 
        greenhouse gases, including the estimates for the social cost 
        of carbon, the social cost of methane, and the social cost of 
        nitrous oxide, in the rulemakings and other actions of the 
        Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
        Department of the Interior, the Department of Transportation, 
        and the Council on Environmental Quality was without--
                    (A) an adequate opportunity for public notice and 
                comment; and
                    (B) rigorous scientific peer review;
            (6) by Executive order, the interagency working group 
        described in paragraph (3) was disbanded in March 2017, and the 
        related estimates were withdrawn;
            (7) the Environmental Protection Agency developed new 
        estimates in line with the document described in paragraph (4) 
        in EPA-452/R-18-006, dated August 2018, and entitled 
        ``Regulatory Impact Analysis for the Proposed Emissions 
        Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing Electric 
        Utility Generating Units; Revisions to Emission Guideline 
        Implementing Regulations; Revisions to New Source Review 
        Program'';
            (8) Executive Order 13990 (86 Fed. Reg. 7037; relating to 
        protecting public health and the environment and restoring 
        science to tackle the climate crisis), issued on January 20, 
        2021--
                    (A) reconvened the interagency working group 
                described in paragraph (3);
                    (B) directed the head of each Federal agency to 
                include an interim figure for the social cost of 
                carbon, the social cost of methane, and the social cost 
                of nitrous oxide in any consideration of the effect of 
                greenhouse gas emissions in any regulations and other 
                relevant agency actions; and
                    (C) directed the reconvened interagency working 
                group to review and update the methodology and 
                estimates for the social cost of carbon, the social 
                cost of methane, and the social cost of nitrous oxide;
            (9) despite nearly a decade of investigation, the 
        interagency working group described in paragraph (3) has lacked 
        transparency and failed to sufficiently provide Congress and 
        the public with information regarding how often the interagency 
        working group met, the discussions of the interagency working 
        group, and how the interagency working group arrived at its 
        estimates;
            (10)(A) the use of the interim social cost of greenhouse 
        gas figures was challenged in court and a preliminary 
        injunction was granted by the United States District Court for 
        the Western District of Louisiana on February 11, 2022; and
            (B) the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the 
        preliminary injunction on March 16, 2022;
            (11) the Environmental Protection Agency relied on the 
        interagency working group interim estimate of the social cost 
        of methane, without appropriate peer review or opportunity for 
        public notice and comment, in attempting to justify the costs 
        and benefits of the proposed rule entitled ``Standards of 
        Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources and 
        Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas 
        Sector Climate Review'' (86 Fed. Reg. 63110 (November 15, 
        2021));
            (12) prior to the 2017 disbandment of the interagency 
        working group described in paragraph (3), the Department of the 
        Interior used the social cost of methane estimate to justify 
        the costs and benefits of the final rule entitled ``Waste 
        Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource 
        Conservation'' (81 Fed. Reg. 83008 (November 18, 2016));
            (13) court filings note that various agencies have 38 
        pending regulatory actions that rely on the interim social cost 
        of greenhouse gases figures; and
            (14) continued use of the social cost of greenhouse gases, 
        including the social cost of carbon, the social cost of 
        methane, and the social cost of nitrous oxide by the Department 
        of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department 
        of the Interior, the Department of Transportation, the Council 
        on Environmental Quality, and the Federal Energy Regulatory 
        Commission ignores sound science.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Social cost of carbon.--The term ``social cost of 
        carbon'' means--
                    (A) the estimate of the social cost of carbon 
                described in--
                            (i) the document entitled ``Technical 
                        Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon for 
                        Regulatory Impact Analysis Under Executive 
                        Order 12866'', published by the Interagency 
                        Working Group on Social Cost of Carbon, United 
                        States Government, in February 2010;
                            (ii) the document entitled ``Technical 
                        Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon, 
                        Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Estimates 
                        under Executive Order 13990'', published by the 
                        Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of 
                        Greenhouse Gases, United States Government, in 
                        February 2021;
                            (iii) the document entitled ``Technical 
                        Support Document: Technical Update of the 
                        Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact 
                        Analysis Under Executive Order 12866'', 
                        published by the Interagency Working Group on 
                        Social Cost of Carbon, United States 
                        Government, in May 2013 and revised in November 
                        2013 and July 2015, and published and revised 
                        by the Interagency Working Group on the Social 
                        Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United States 
                        Government, in August 2016; or
                            (iv) any successor or substantially related 
                        document; and
                    (B) any other estimate of the monetized damages 
                associated with an incremental increase in carbon 
                dioxide emissions in a given year.
            (3) Social cost of greenhouse gas.--The term ``social cost 
        of greenhouse gas'' means--
                    (A) the estimate of the social cost of any 
                greenhouse gas that is described in any successor 
                document to--
                            (i) the document entitled ``Technical 
                        Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon for 
                        Regulatory Impact Analysis Under Executive 
                        Order 12866'', published by the Interagency 
                        Working Group on Social Cost of Carbon, United 
                        States Government, in February 2010;
                            (ii) the document entitled ``Technical 
                        Support Document: Technical Update of the 
                        Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact 
                        Analysis Under Executive Order 12866'', 
                        published by the Interagency Working Group on 
                        Social Cost of Carbon, United States 
                        Government, in May 2013 and revised in November 
                        2013 and July 2015, and published and revised 
                        by the Interagency Working Group on the Social 
                        Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United States 
                        Government, in August 2016;
                            (iii) the document entitled ``Addendum to 
                        Technical Support Document on Social Cost of 
                        Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis under 
                        Executive Order 12866: Application of the 
                        Methodology to Estimate the Social Cost of 
                        Methane and the Social Cost of Nitrous Oxide'', 
                        published by the Interagency Working Group on 
                        Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United States 
                        Government, in August 2016;
                            (iv) the document entitled ``Technical 
                        Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon, 
                        Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Estimates 
                        under Executive Order 13990'', published by the 
                        Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of 
                        Greenhouse Gases, United States Government, in 
                        February 2021; or
                            (v) any successor or substantially related 
                        document; and
                    (B) any other estimate of the monetized damages 
                associated with an incremental increase in greenhouse 
                gas emissions in a given year.
            (4) Social cost of methane.--The term ``social cost of 
        methane'' means--
                    (A) the estimate of the social cost of methane 
                described in--
                            (i) the proposed rule entitled ``Oil and 
                        Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New 
                        and Modified Sources'' (80 Fed. Reg. 56593 
                        (September 18, 2015));
                            (ii) the final rule entitled ``Oil and 
                        Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, 
                        Reconstructed, and Modified Sources'' (81 Fed. 
                        Reg. 35824 (June 3, 2016));
                            (iii) the regulatory impact analysis 
                        entitled ``Regulatory Impact Analysis of the 
                        Final Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission 
                        Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified 
                        Sources'', prepared by the Environmental 
                        Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation, 
                        in May 2016 and identified by docket ID number 
                        EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0505-7630;
                            (iv) the document entitled ``Addendum to 
                        Technical Support Document on Social Cost of 
                        Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis under 
                        Executive Order 12866: Application of the 
                        Methodology to Estimate the Social Cost of 
                        Methane and the Social Cost of Nitrous Oxide'', 
                        published by the Interagency Working Group on 
                        Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United States 
                        Government, in August 2016;
                            (v) the document entitled ``Technical 
                        Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon, 
                        Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Estimates 
                        under Executive Order 13990'', published by the 
                        Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of 
                        Greenhouse Gases, United States Government, in 
                        February 2021; or
                            (vi) any successor or substantially related 
                        document; and
                    (B) any other estimate of the monetized damages 
                associated with an incremental increase in methane 
                emissions in a given year.
            (5) Social cost of nitrous oxide.--The term ``social cost 
        of nitrous oxide'' means--
                    (A) the estimate of the social cost of nitrous 
                oxide described in--
                            (i) the document entitled ``Addendum to 
                        Technical Support Document on Social Cost of 
                        Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis under 
                        Executive Order 12866: Application of the 
                        Methodology to Estimate the Social Cost of 
                        Methane and the Social Cost of Nitrous Oxide'', 
                        published by the Interagency Working Group on 
                        Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United States 
                        Government, in August 2016;
                            (ii) the document entitled ``Technical 
                        Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon, 
                        Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Estimates 
                        under Executive Order 13990'', published by the 
                        Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of 
                        Greenhouse Gases, United States Government, in 
                        February 2021; or
                            (iii) any other successor or substantially 
                        related document; and
                    (B) any other estimate of the monetized damages 
                associated with an incremental increase in nitrous 
                oxide emissions in a given year.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON CONSIDERING THE SOCIAL COST OF GREENHOUSE GAS, 
              INCLUDING THE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON, THE SOCIAL COST OF 
              METHANE, AND THE SOCIAL COST OF NITROUS OXIDE.

    The Secretary of Energy, under any authority, the Administrator, 
under any authority, the Secretary of the Interior, under any 
authority, the Secretary of Transportation, under any authority, the 
Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, under the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Chair of 
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, under any authority, the 
Secretary of the Treasury, under any authority, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, under any authority, the Secretary of Commerce, under any 
authority, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, under any 
authority, may not consider the social cost of carbon, social cost of 
methane, social cost of nitrous oxide, or social cost of greenhouse 
gas--
            (1) as part of any cost-benefit analysis required under--
                    (A) any law;
                    (B) Executive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; 
                relating to regulatory planning and review); or
                    (C) Executive Order 13563 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; 
                relating to improving regulation and regulatory 
                review);
            (2) in any rulemaking;
            (3) in the issuance of any guidance;
            (4) in taking any other agency action; or
            (5) as a justification for any rulemaking, guidance 
        document, or agency action.

SEC. 5. REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.

    Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Administrator, in coordination and consultation with the Secretary 
of Energy, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
Transportation, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, and 
the Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall submit to 
the Committees on Environment and Public Works and Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate and the Committees on Energy and Commerce and 
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report describing 
the number of proposed and final rulemakings, guidance documents, and 
agency actions that, since January 2009, have used the social cost of 
carbon, the social cost of greenhouse gases, the social cost of 
methane, or the social cost of nitrous oxide, including the use of the 
social cost of carbon, the social cost of greenhouse gases, the social 
cost of methane, or the social cost of nitrous oxide as part of any 
cost-benefit analysis required under Executive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 
601 note; relating to regulatory planning and review) or other relevant 
authority.
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