Restoring the Value of Every American in Environmental Decisions Act

Bill: 110-s-3564
Sponsor: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]
Introduced: 2008-09-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Decision making
Economics and Public Finance
Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental health
Families
Finance and Financial Sector
Government Operations and Politics
Government publicity
Government statistics
Health
Income
Infants
Labor statistics
Law
Pollution
Pregnant women
Risk
Social Welfare
Valuation
Women

Summary:
action_date: 2008-09-24
text: 
Restoring the Value of Every American in Environmental Decisions Act - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), when using in decisionmaking any value of statistical life, including the life of pregnant women, infants, children, and the elderly, to: (1) not reduce that value below the highest value of statistical life used in a decisionmaking before the enactment of this Act; and (2) increase that value at least once each year, by adjusting the value to reflect the average annual total compensation of individuals, the average capital that may be liquidated upon the death of an individual, and the value of nonpaid activities, including the relevant activities described in the American Time Survey Results published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.

Prohibits the Administrator from decreasing the value of statistical life based on age, income, race, illness, disability, date of death, or any other personal attribute or relativistic analysis of the value of life.

Requires the Administrator to: (1) ensure that the process for establishing a value of statistical life is open to the public; and (2) provide to specified congressional committees, concurrently with public notice, any proposed revision of a value of a statistical life.

Declares that nothing in this Act: (1) expresses on behalf of Congress an endorsement of any use of value of statistical life analysis as a decisionmaking criterion, cost-benefit analysis, regulatory decisionmaking threshold, or single process of agency decisionmaking; (2) creates a duty to make or revise any standard under any other law; or (3) affects any substantive standard for promulgating regulations under any other law. 

action_date: 2008-09-24
text: 

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Restoring the Value of Every American in Environmental Decisions Act - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), when using in decisionmaking any value of statistical life, including the life of pregnant women, infants, children, and the elderly, to: (1) not reduce that value below the highest value of statistical life used in a decisionmaking before the enactment of this Act; and (2) increase that value at least once each year, by adjusting the value to reflect the average annual total compensation of individuals, the average capital that may be liquidated upon the death of an individual, and the value of nonpaid activities, including the relevant activities described in the American Time Survey Results published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.

Prohibits the Administrator from decreasing the value of statistical life based on age, income, race, illness, disability, date of death, or any other personal attribute or relativistic analysis of the value of life.

Requires the Administrator to: (1) ensure that the process for establishing a value of statistical life is open to the public; and (2) provide to specified congressional committees, concurrently with public notice, any proposed revision of a value of a statistical life.

Declares that nothing in this Act: (1) expresses on behalf of Congress an endorsement of any use of value of statistical life analysis as a decisionmaking criterion, cost-benefit analysis, regulatory decisionmaking threshold, or single process of agency decisionmaking; (2) creates a duty to make or revise any standard under any other law; or (3) affects any substantive standard for promulgating regulations under any other law. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-09-24
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 1077.
action_date: 2008-09-24
text: Committee on Environment and Public Works. Original measure reported to Senate by Senator Boxer. With written report No. 110-499. Minority views filed.
action_date: 2008-09-24
text: Committee on Environment and Public Works. Original measure reported to Senate by Senator Boxer. With written report No. 110-499. Minority views filed.
action_date: 2008-09-24
text: Introduced in Senate
action_date: 2008-09-17
text: Committee on Environment and Public Works ordered to be reported an original measure.