Title: Transparency and Honesty in Energy Regulations Act of 2017
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Transparency and Honesty in Energy Regulations Act of 2017
This bill prohibits the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of the Interior, the Department of Transportation, and the Council on Environmental Quality from considering the social cost of carbon, methane, nitrous oxide, or greenhouse gas as part of any cost benefit analysis in the rule making process, unless a federal law is enacted authorizing such consideration. They may also consider those social costs if they use an estimate that: (1) complies with the requirements of the "Circular A-4" document of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), (2) uses only the discount rates specified in that document, (3) considers only the domestic costs and benefits of the activity, and (4) has been reviewed by the OMB for compliance with the circular A-4 document and consistency across federal agencies.
The EPA must report on the number of proposed and final rulemakings, guidance documents, and agency actions since January 2009 that use those social costs, including as part of any cost benefit analysis required under Executive Order 12866 or other relevant authority.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1512 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1512

     To prohibit the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the 
  Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of the Interior, the 
     Secretary of Transportation, and the Chair of the Council on 
   Environmental Quality 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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 29, 2017

 Mr. Lankford (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Barrasso, and 
  Mr. Blunt) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To prohibit the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the 
  Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of the Interior, the 
     Secretary of Transportation, and the Chair of the Council on 
   Environmental Quality 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 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) as a tool to justify Federal actions by the Secretary 
        of Energy, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
        Transportation, and the Chair of the Council on Environmental 
        Quality 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) the Environmental Protection Agency relied on--
                    (A) the interagency working group 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--
                            (i) the proposed rule entitled ``Oil and 
                        Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New 
                        and Modified Sources'' (80 Fed. Reg. 56593 
                        (September 18, 2015)); and
                            (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)) and the accompanying 
                        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; and
                    (B) the interagency working group estimate of the 
                social cost of carbon, without appropriate peer review 
                or opportunity for public notice and comment, in 
                attempting to justify the costs and benefits of--
                            (i) the final rule entitled ``Standards of 
                        Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions From 
                        New, Modified, and Reconstructed Stationary 
                        Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units'' 
                        (80 Fed. Reg. 64510 (October 23, 2015)) and the 
                        accompanying regulatory impact analysis 
                        entitled ``Regulatory Impact Analysis for the 
                        Final Standards of Performance for Greenhouse 
                        Gas Emissions from New, Modified, and 
                        Reconstructed Stationary Sources: Electric 
                        Utility Generating Units'', prepared by the 
                        Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air 
                        and Radiation, in October 2015 and identified 
                        by docket ID number EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0495; and
                            (ii) the final rule entitled ``Carbon 
                        Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing 
                        Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating 
                        Units'' (80 Fed. Reg. 64662 (October 23, 2015)) 
                        and the accompanying regulatory impact analysis 
                        entitled ``Regulatory Impact Analysis for the 
                        Clean Power Plan Final Rule'', prepared by the 
                        Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air 
                        and Radiation, in October 2015 and identified 
                        by docket ID number EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602;
            (7) 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));
            (8) the Council on Environmental Quality issued final 
        guidance on August 1, 2016, that, with respect to a monetary 
        cost-benefit analysis for an evaluation of a proposed Federal 
        action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
        U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), directed the head of each Federal agency 
        to include the social cost of carbon in any consideration of 
        the effect of greenhouse gas emissions;
            (9) 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, and the 
        Council on Environmental Quality ignores sound science;
            (10) Executive Order 13777 (82 Fed. Reg. 12285 (March 1, 
        2017)) states that the policy of the United States is to 
        alleviate any unnecessary regulatory burden on the people of 
        the United States; and
            (11) Executive Order 13783 (82 Fed. Reg. 16093 (March 31, 
        2017))--
                    (A) disbands the interagency working group referred 
                to in paragraph (3);
                    (B) withdraws the social cost of carbon, the social 
                cost of methane, and the social cost of nitrous oxide; 
                and
                    (C) directs Federal agencies, in monetizing the 
                value of changes in greenhouse gas emissions as a 
                result of a regulation, to follow the document of the 
                Office of Management and Budget entitled ``Circular A-
                4'' and dated September 17, 2003, by using the discount 
                rates specified in that document and evaluating only 
                the domestic effects of the regulation.

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; or
                            (ii)(I) 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
                            (II) 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; or
                            (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; 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; or
                            (iv)(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; or
                            (II) 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; or
                            (ii) 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.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy, under any authority, the 
Administrator, under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), the 
Secretary of the Interior, under any authority, the Secretary of 
Transportation, under any authority, and the Chair of the Council on 
Environmental Quality, under the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 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.
    (b) Exception.--The Secretary of Energy, the Administrator, the 
Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Transportation, and the 
Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality may consider the social 
cost of carbon, social cost of methane, social cost of nitrous oxide, 
or social cost of greenhouse gas in carrying out an activity described 
in subsection (a) only if, after the date of enactment of this Act--
            (1) a Federal law is enacted that explicitly authorizes the 
        consideration; or
            (2) the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator, the 
        Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Transportation, or 
        the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality uses an 
        estimate for the social cost of carbon, social cost of methane, 
        social cost of nitrous oxide, or social cost of greenhouse gas 
        that--
                    (A) complies with the requirements of the document 
                of the Office of Management and Budget entitled 
                ``Circular A-4'' and dated September 17, 2003;
                    (B) uses only the discount rates specified in that 
                document;
                    (C) considers only the domestic costs and benefits 
                of the activity; and
                    (D) has been reviewed by the Director of the Office 
                of Management and Budget for--
                            (i) compliance with the document referred 
                        to in subparagraph (A); and
                            (ii) consistency across Federal agencies.

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, and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, 
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 methane, or the 
social cost of nitrous oxide, including the use of the social cost of 
carbon, 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.
                                 <all>