Congressional Review of Agency Legal Settlements Act of 2021
Bill: S.3378 | Sponsor: Sen. Scott, Rick (R-FL)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Congressional Review of Agency Legal Settlements Act of 2021
This bill requires federal agencies to submit certain settlement agreements to Congress and allows Congress to disapprove of such agreements.
The bill applies to proposed voluntary compromise settlements that include (1) a financial award paid by an agency that is more than $10 million aggregated across all similarly situated cases or legal claims against the agency, or (2) an agreement to modify or alter an agency rule.
Before an agency may enter into such an agreement, the agency must submit to Congress a report that includes specified information, such as the terms and class of claimants covered by the agreement.
The bill (1) specifies the effect of passage of a joint resolution of disapproval related to such an agreement, and (2) provides for an expedited procedure for such resolutions.

To require agencies to submit certain settlement agreements to 
     Congress, to allow Congress to disapprove of those settlement 
                  agreements, 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 ``Congressional Review of Agency Legal 
Settlements Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
            (2) Agency rule.--The term ``agency rule'' means--
                    (A) a substantive rule of general applicability of 
                an agency;
                    (B) a statement of general policy of an agency; or
                    (C) an interpretation of general applicability 
                formulated and adopted by an agency pursuant to 
                relevant law.
            (3) Covered settlement agreement.--The term ``covered 
        settlement agreement'' means a proposed voluntary compromise 
        settlement to be entered into by an agency to resolve 1 or more 
        pending legal claims against the United States that includes--
                    (A) a financial award paid by the agency that is 
                more than $10,000,000, aggregated across all similarly 
                situated cases or legal claims against the agency; or
                    (B) an agreement to modify or alter an agency rule 
                of the agency.
            (4) End of session period.--The term ``end of session 
        period'' means the period--
                    (A) beginning on the date occurring, in the case of 
                the Senate, 60 session days, or in the case of the 
                House of Representatives, 60 legislative days before 
                the date the Congress adjourns a session of Congress; 
                and
                    (B) ending on the date on which the same or 
                succeeding Congress first convenes its next session.
            (5) Joint resolution of disapproval.--The term ``joint 
        resolution of disapproval'' means a joint resolution--
                    (A) introduced during the period beginning on the 
                submission date and ending 60 days thereafter 
                (excluding days either House of Congress is adjourned 
                for more than 3 days during a session of Congress); and
                    (B) the matter after the resolving clause of which 
                is as follows:
                            (i) For covered settlement agreements 
                        involving a financial award: ``That Congress 
                        finds that the settlement agreement proposed by 
                        the ___ relating to ___ is an unauthorized use 
                        of amounts appropriated by Congress, and the 
                        ___ may not enter into the settlement agreement 
                        using amounts appropriated by Congress.'' (The 
                        blank spaces being appropriately filled in).
                            (ii) For covered settlement agreements 
                        involving a modification or alteration of an 
                        agency rule: ``That Congress disapproves 
                        modification or alteration of the agency rule 
                        within the settlement agreement proposed by the 
                        ___ relating to ___, and such modification or 
                        alteration of the agency rule shall have no 
                        force or effect.'' (The blank spaces being 
                        appropriately filled in).
            (6) Submission date.--The term ``submission date'' means 
        the date on which a report submitted by an agency under section 
        3(a) is received by Congress.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF CERTAIN AGENCY SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Before an agency may enter into a covered 
settlement agreement, the agency shall submit to Congress a report that 
includes--
            (1) information relating to each legal claim resolved by 
        the covered settlement agreement;
            (2) the terms of the covered settlement agreement;
            (3) the class of claimants covered by the covered 
        settlement agreement;
            (4) the total amount of the financial award to be paid 
        under the covered settlement agreement;
            (5) the factual and legal basis for calculating the amount 
        described in paragraph (4);
            (6) the factual and legal basis for modifying or altering 
        each agency rule of the agency modified or altered under the 
        covered settlement agreement; and
            (7) whether each modification or alteration of an agency 
        rule described in paragraph (6) will require the agency to 
        initiate rulemaking proceedings under section 553 of title 5, 
        United States Code and the date those rulemaking proceedings 
        will commence.
    (b) Receipt by Congress.--Upon receipt of a report from an agency 
under subsection (a), each House shall provide a copy of the report to 
the chairman and ranking member of the standing committee with 
jurisdiction over the agency and the operating budget of the agency.
    (c) Joint Resolution.--Not later than 60 days after the date on 
which Congress receives a report under subsection (a), Congress may 
pass a joint resolution of disapproval of the covered settlement 
agreement that is the subject of the report in accordance with section 
4.
    (d) Effect of Joint Resolution.--If Congress passes a joint 
resolution of disapproval relating to a covered settlement agreement in 
accordance with section 4, the agency may not--
            (1) pay a financial award under the covered settlement 
        agreement using amounts otherwise appropriated by Congress; or
            (2) modify or alter an agency rule of the agency under the 
        covered settlement agreement without complying with the 
        rulemaking requirements under section 553 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
    (e) Waiting Period.--Subject to subsection (f), an agency may enter 
into a covered settlement agreement as otherwise provided by law if, on 
the date that is 60 days after the submission date, Congress has not 
passed a joint resolution of disapproval relating to the covered 
settlement agreement.
    (f) End of Session Submission.--In addition to the opportunity for 
Congress to review a covered settlement agreement as otherwise provided 
under this Act, in the case of any covered settlement agreement for 
which a report is submitted in accordance with subsection (a) during an 
end of session period--
            (1) section 4 shall apply to the covered settlement 
        agreement in the succeeding session of Congress; and
            (2) in applying section 4 for purposes of such additional 
        review, the covered settlement agreement shall be treated as 
        though a report on such covered settlement agreement were 
        submitted to Congress under subsection (a) on, with respect to 
        the date on which the succeeding session of Congress first 
        convenes--
                    (A) in the case of the Senate, the 15th session day 
                after that date; or
                    (B) in the case of the House of Representatives, 
                the 15th legislative day after that date.

SEC. 4. EXPEDITED PROCEDURE FOR JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF DISAPPROVAL.

    (a) Referral.--A joint resolution shall be referred to the 
committees in each House of Congress with jurisdiction.
    (b) Discharge From Committee.--In the Senate, if the committee to 
which a joint resolution of disapproval is referred under subsection 
(a) has not reported the joint resolution of disapproval (or an 
identical joint resolution of disapproval) at the end of 20 calendar 
days after the submission date, the committee may be discharged from 
further consideration of the joint resolution of disapproval upon a 
petition supported in writing by 30 Members of the Senate, and such 
joint resolution of disapproval shall be placed on the calendar.
    (c) Procedure.--
            (1) In general.--In the Senate, when the committee to which 
        a joint resolution of disapproval is referred has reported, or 
        when a committee is discharged (under subsection (b)) from 
        further consideration of a joint resolution of disapproval, it 
        is at any time thereafter in order (even though a previous 
        motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) for a motion 
        to proceed to the consideration of the joint resolution of 
        disapproval, and all points of order against the joint 
        resolution of disapproval (and against consideration of the 
        joint resolution of disapproval) are waived. The motion is not 
        subject to amendment, or to a motion to postpone, or to a 
        motion to proceed to the consideration of other business. A 
        motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to 
        or disagreed to shall not be in order. If a motion to proceed 
        to the consideration of the joint resolution of disapproval is 
        agreed to, the joint resolution of disapproval shall remain the 
        unfinished business of the Senate until disposed of.
            (2) Debate limitation.--In the Senate, debate on the joint 
        resolution of disapproval, and on all debatable motions and 
        appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited to not more 
        than 10 hours, which shall be divided equally between those 
        favoring and those opposing the joint resolution of 
        disapproval. A motion further to limit debate is in order and 
        not debatable. An amendment to, or a motion to postpone, or a 
        motion to proceed to the consideration of other business, or a 
        motion to recommit the joint resolution of disapproval is not 
        in order.
            (3) Vote on final passage.--In the Senate, immediately 
        following the conclusion of the debate on a joint resolution of 
        disapproval, and a single quorum call at the conclusion of the 
        debate if requested in accordance with the rules of the Senate, 
        the vote on final passage of the joint resolution of 
        disapproval shall occur.
            (4) Appeals.--Appeals from the decisions of the Chair 
        relating to the application of the rules of the Senate to the 
        procedure relating to a joint resolution of disapproval shall 
        be decided without debate.
    (d) Limitation.--In the Senate, the procedure described in 
subsection (b) or (c) shall not apply to the consideration of a joint 
resolution of disapproval--
            (1) after the expiration of the 60 session days beginning 
        with the applicable submission date; or
            (2) if the report described in section 3(a) was submitted 
        during an end of session period, after the expiration of the 60 
        session days beginning on the 15th session day after the 
        succeeding session of Congress first convenes.
    (e) Effect of Passage in One House.--If, before the passage by one 
House of a joint resolution of disapproval of that House, that House 
receives from the other House a joint resolution of disapproval, then 
the following procedures shall apply:
            (1) The joint resolution of disapproval of the other House 
        shall not be referred to a committee.
            (2) With respect to a joint resolution of disapproval of 
        the House receiving the joint resolution of disapproval--
                    (A) the procedure in that House shall be the same 
                as if no joint resolution of disapproval had been 
                received from the other House; but
                    (B) the vote on final passage shall be on the joint 
                resolution of disapproval of the other House.
    (f) Rule of Construction.--This section is enacted by Congress--
            (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate 
        and House of Representatives, respectively, 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 of disapproval, 
        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.
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