Title: POWERS Act of 2019
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Preventing Overreach Within the Executive Rulemaking System Act of 2019 or the POWERS Act of 2019
This bill requires agencies to (1) provide at least a 60-day period for the public to comment on proposed rules, and (2) respond within 10 days to certain congressional inquiries submitted during that period about a proposed rule.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 395 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 395

To amend title 5, United States Code, to require agencies to respond to 
 comments from congressional committees about proposed rulemaking, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 9, 2019

 Mr. Mullin (for himself, Mr. Meadows, Mr. Loudermilk, Mr. Westerman, 
 Mr. Palazzo, Mr. Cole, and Mr. Lucas) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to require agencies to respond to 
 comments from congressional committees about proposed rulemaking, 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 ``Preventing Overreach Within the 
Executive Rulemaking System Act of 2019'' or the ``POWERS Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRING AGENCY RESPONSE TO COMMENTS FROM CONGRESSIONAL 
              COMMITTEES ABOUT PROPOSED RULEMAKING.

    (a) In General.--Section 553(c) of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``After notice'' and inserting ``(1) After 
        notice''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) No publication or service of a rule may be made during the 
period beginning on the date of the publication of a notice of proposed 
rulemaking under subsection (b) with respect to such rule and ending on 
the date that is 60 days after such date of publication, subject to 
paragraph (3).
    ``(3)(A) With respect to a rule, if a committee of the House of 
Representatives or the Senate that has jurisdiction under the Rules of 
the House of Representatives or the Senate, respectively, over the 
provision of law that authorizes the agency to issue the rule submits 
written data, views, or arguments to the head of the agency through 
electronic mail and physical mail during the period described in 
paragraph (2), not later than 10 days after the date of such 
submission, the head of the agency shall publish in the Federal 
Register a response that addresses the content of such submission and 
answers any questions posed in such submission.
    ``(B) The period beginning on the date of such submission and 
ending on the date of such publication (or a notification under 
paragraph (4)(B)) shall not count as part of the period described in 
paragraph (2).
    ``(4) Paragraph (3)(A) shall not apply with respect to a subsequent 
submission with respect to a rule to the head of an agency under such 
paragraph by a committee that has made an initial submission to such 
head and received a response under such paragraph if the head--
            ``(A) determines that such subsequent submission--
                    ``(i) fails to address the content of such 
                response; or
                    ``(ii) raises issues that were not raised in the 
                initial submission or the response; and
            ``(B) notifies the committee of such determination.''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section shall apply 
with respect to a rule for which the notice of proposed rulemaking is 
published under section 553(b) of title 5, United States Code, on or 
after the date of enactment of this Act.
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