zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Regulatory Accountability Act of 2013 - Amends the Administrative Procedure Act to revise requirements for federal agency rulemaking by requiring agencies, in making a rule, to consider: (1) the legal authority under which a rule may be proposed, including whether rulemaking is required by statute or is within the discretion of the agency; (2) the nature and significance of the problem the agency intends to address; (3) whether existing federal laws or rules have created or contributed to the problem; (4) reasonable alternatives for a new rule; and (5) for any major rule or high-impact rule (generally defined as rules having an annual cost on the economy of $100 million or $1 billion or more, respectively), the potential costs and benefits associated with potential alternative rules.

Requires agencies that initiate a rulemaking that may result in a major rule or a high-impact rule to: (1) establish an electronic docket for that rulemaking, which may have a physical counterpart; and (2) publish a notice of initiation of rulemaking in the Federal Register.

Requires agencies issuing a rule to notify the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register which shall include: (1) a text of the proposed rule; (2) a summary of rulemaking considerations; and (3) for any major rule or high-impact rule, a preliminary determination that the benefits of the proposed rule justify its costs and a discussion of the costs and benefits of alternatives to the rule. Provides similar notice requirements when an agency adopts a final rule.

Expands agency requirements for allowing opportunities for public comment. Sets forth requirements for providing public hearings for high-impact and major rules and for petitioning for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule. Requires agencies, in a rulemaking for a major rule or high-impact rule, to adopt the least costly rule considered that meets relevant statutory objectives.

Requires the Administrator to establish and update guidelines for the assessment of: (1) the costs and benefits of proposed and final rules, and (2) other economic issues and risk assessments that are relevant to rulemaking.

Revises the scope of judicial review to prohibit review of a determination of whether a rule is a major rule and to establish a substantial evidence standard for affirming agency rulemaking decisions.

Sets forth criteria for issuing major guidance (agency guidance that is likely to lead to an annual cost on the economy of $100 million or more, a major increase in cost or prices, or significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or ability to compete).

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Protect America's Cities from Government Blacklist Act of 2013 - Prohibits a federal agency from establishing or implementing a policy that discourages or prohibits the selection of a location for travel, an event, a meeting, or a conference because the location is perceived to be a resort or vacation destination.

Date: 2013-06-06
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Reengaging Americans in Serious Education by Uniting Programs Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to award competitive, renewable, five-year grants to eligible partnerships to assist them in providing disconnected youth with the support needed to: (1) attain a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent; (2) attain a postsecondary credential, including those offered by institutions of higher education, industry groups, or registered apprenticeship programs; and (3) secure and succeed in a family-supporting career.

Requires each eligible partnership to consist of entities or individuals qualified to represent the community assisted, including: (1) the head of the local government, (2) a local educational agency, (3) a local workforce system, (4) a representative from certain state and local service agencies serving young people, (5) an institution of higher education, (6) a representative of a community-based organization, (7) a representative from business or industry, (8) a representative with expertise in labor management relations, and (9) a disconnected youth and his or her caregivers.

Requires grantees to award subgrants and contracts to community-based organizations and other entities for the provision of a comprehensive array of coordinated services to disconnected youth that include workforce preparation, education support, and youth support services.

Directs the Secretary to award planning grants to eligible partnerships to enable them to submit competitive applications for grants to support disconnected youth.

Establishes an accountability system for measuring the performance of each grantee against specified interim, transitional, and long-term indicators of success.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) award a grant or contract to an entity outside the Department of Labor for an evaluation of grant-assisted activities; (2) disseminate best practices that emerge from the partnership grant program; and (3) provide training, technical assistance, and professional development for organizations serving disconnected youth, including organizations that do not receive funding under this Act.

Date: 2013-06-07
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Education
Independent Agency Regulatory Analysis Act of 2013 - Authorizes the President to require an independent regulatory agency to: (1) comply, to the extent permitted by law, with regulatory analysis requirements applicable to other federal agencies; (2) publish and provide the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs with an assessment of the costs and benefits of a proposed or final economically significant rule (i.e., a rule that is likely to have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more and is likely to adversely affect sectors of the economy in a material way) and an assessment of costs and benefits of alternatives to the rule; and (3) submit to the Administrator for review any proposed or final economically significant rule.

Prohibits judicial review of the compliance or noncompliance of an independent regulatory agency with the requirements of this Act.

Date: 2013-06-18
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the Senate on September 25, 2013. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Security Clearance Oversight and Reform Enhancement Act - Authorizes funding for the cost of audits, investigations, and oversight activities conducted by the Inspector General of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) of the OPM revolving fund and functions financed by the fund. Requires OPM to include in its budget an estimate by the OPM Inspector General of the amount required to pay the reasonable expenses (not to exceed .33% of total budgetary authority) to audit, investigate, and perform other oversight activities related to the revolving fund.

Date: 2013-07-10
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2013 - Amends the sanctions provisions in Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to require the court to impose an appropriate sanction on any attorney, law firm, or party that has violated, or is responsible for the violation of, the rule with regard to representations to the court. Requires any sanction to compensate parties injured by the conduct in question.

Removes a provision that prohibits filing a motion for sanctions if the challenged paper, claim, defense, contention, or denial is withdrawn or appropriately corrected within 21 days after service or within another time the court sets.

Authorizes the court to impose additional sanctions, including striking the pleadings, dismissing the suit, nonmonetary directives, or penalty payments if warranted for effective deterrence.

Date: 2013-07-11
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Law
Government Transformation Act of 2013 - Establishes the Government Transformation Commission as an independent commission. Directs the Commission to:

 make specific and actionable recommendations to congressional committees for legislative changes, including opportunities to increase efficiency and reduce government costs, proposals to reduce government expenditures and indebtedness and improve personnel management, and proposals to make the federal government more economical, efficient, and effective; make recommendations to the President for the elimination, consolidation, or improvement of federal programs and for reinvestment and opportunities for innovation in federal agencies; provide advice and recommendations to federal agencies to make programs more economical, efficient, and effective, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to improve and report on agency performance plans, and to Congress, OMB, and federal agencies on the design and implementation of significant new federal programs; provide a mechanism whereby federal employees, citizens, and other interested parties can offer ideas and recommendations for reviewing and improving federal programs; conduct research into best organization practices and government reform efforts and provide a repository for such information; develop and maintain criteria and a schedule for assessing federal agencies and programs; assess program evaluations; maintain the privacy and security of any data used by the Commission; and support requests made under the Freedom of Information Act. Requires the Commission to make interim and annual reports on its activities to the President and Congress.

Provides for expedited congressional consideration of legislation to implement recommendations of the Commission.

Terminates the Commission seven years after the enactment of this Act.

Date: 2013-07-16
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Improper Payments Agency Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2014 - (Sec. 2) Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Benefits) of the Social Security Act to direct the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) to: (1) provide information on all deceased individuals that is furnished to or maintained by the Commissioner, subject to appropriate safeguards against unauthorized use or disclosure, to federal or state agencies providing benefits or administering a federal program; and (2) provide for the use of such information by federal agencies to operate the Do Not Pay working system and to carry out tax administration or debt collection duties.

Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to analyze and report to Congress on potential alternative sources of death data maintained by non-federal sources.

(Sec. 3) Requires the Secretaries of State and Defense, in coordination with the SSA Commissioner, to establish a procedure for submitting to the Commissioner information on the deaths of individuals.

Requires the OMB Director to: (1) issue guidance to agencies that operate or maintain a database of information relating to beneficiaries, annuity recipients, or other purposes for which improved data matching with databases would be relevant and necessary; (2) develop a plan to assist states and local agencies, and Indian tribes and organizations, to provide information, in an electronic format, to the federal government on the deaths of individuals; and (3) submit to Congress a plan to improve data matching with the federal government on the death of individuals who are benefit recipients and to submit an annual report on the implementation of such requirements.

(Sec. 4) Extends the availability of the Do Not Pay Initiative to the legislative and judicial branches and to the states.

(Sec. 5) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report to Congress on: (1) data analytics performed as part of the Do Not Pay Initiative to prevent and recover improper and duplicative payments, and (2) the metrics used in determining whether analytic and investigatory efforts have helped to reduce improper payments or awards.

Date: 2013-07-24
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Energy Consumers Relief Act of 2013 - Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from promulgating a final rule that regulates any aspect of the production, supply, distribution, or use of energy (or that provides for such regulation by state or local governments) and that is estimated by the Administrator or the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to impose aggregate costs of more than $1 billion if the Secretary of Energy (DOE) determines that the rule will result in significant adverse effects to the economy.

Requires the Administrator, for each such rule, to submit a report that contains: (1) an estimate of the total costs and benefits of the rule, (2) an estimate of the increases in energy prices that may result from implementation or enforcement of the rule, and (3) a detailed description of the employment effects that may result from implementation or enforcement of the rule.

Requires the Secretary: (1) to prepare an independent analysis to determine whether such rule will cause any increase in energy prices for consumers, any impact on fuel diversity of the nation's electricity generation portfolio or on electric reliability, or any adverse effect on energy supply, distribution, or use; and (2) upon making such a determination, to determine whether the rule will result in significant adverse effects to the economy and publish such determination in the Federal Register.

Date: 2013-07-25
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Environmental protection
Citizen Empowerment Act - Requires any executive agency employee who is conducting an in-person or a telephonic interview, audit, investigation, inspection, or other official interaction with an individual relating to a possible violation of federal law that could result in the imposition of civil or criminal fines or penalties or the collection of unpaid tax to allow such individual to make an audio recording of the interaction. Permits the employee conducting the interaction to record it if the employee: (1) informs the individual of the recording prior to or at the initiation of the interaction, and (2) provides the individual with a transcript of the recording at such individual's expense.

Requires the employee conducting an initial in-person or telephonic interview or other interaction to provide to the individual a verbal or written notice of such individual's rights.

Exempts from the application of this Act any in-person or telephonic interview or other interaction that: (1) is likely to include the discussion of classified material or information that would endanger public safety if released publicly; or (2) if released, would endanger an ongoing criminal investigation being conducted by a federal law enforcement officer.

Date: 2013-07-25
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Regulatory Improvement Act of 2013 - Establishes in the legislative branch the Regulatory Improvement Commission. Requires the Commission to evaluate and provide recommendations and proposed legislation for modification, consolidation, or repeal of regulations that have been finalized not later than 10 years before the establishment of the Commission and have not been amended after being finalized (covered regulations) for the purpose of reducing compliance costs, encouraging growth and innovation, improving competitiveness, and protecting public safety. Sets forth reporting requirements for the Commission and procedures for congressional consideration of Commission reports and recommendations and proposed legislation.

Date: 2013-07-30
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Federal Permitting Improvement Act of 2013 - Establishes the Federal Permitting Improvement Council to be chaired by a Federal Chief Permitting Officer (Federal CPO) who is an officer of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Requires the Federal CPO to: (1) establish an inventory of covered projects for which the review or authorization of the head of any federal agency is pending, (2) develop nonbinding performance schedules for reviews and authorizations of each category of covered projects, and (3) maintain an online database, to be known as the Permitting Dashboard, to track the status of federal reviews and authorizations for any covered project. Defines "covered project" as any construction activity that requires authorization or review by a federal agency and that: (1) involves renewable or conventional energy production, electricity transmission, surface transportation, aviation, ports and waterways, water resource projects, broadband, manufacturing, or any other sector as determined by the Federal CPO; and (2) is likely to require an initial investment of more than $25 million.

Requires an agency with principal responsibility for review and authorization of a covered project (lead agency) to establish: (1) a plan for coordinating public and agency participation in, and completion of, any required federal review and authorization for a covered project and submit such plan to the Federal CPO; (2) a permitting timetable that includes intermediate and final deadlines for agency action on any federal review or authorization required for a project; and (3) a process for consultation with participating agencies early in the approval process to identify and address key issues of concern.

Grants the consent of Congress for three or more contiguous states to enter into an interstate compact establishing regional infrastructure development agencies to facilitate authorization and review of covered projects.

Requires agencies to complete environmental reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for covered projects in a timely, coordinated, and environmentally responsible manner.

Reduces the statute of limitations for judicial review of any authorization issued by an agency for a covered project from 6 years to 150 days after a notice is published in the Federal Register that authorization for a covered project is final. Requires a court, in issuing injunctive relief, to consider the potential for significant job losses or other economic harm from an order or injunction.

Date: 2013-07-30
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Act of 2013 - Establishes the Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Program for the appointment of individuals who are graduates of accredited law schools to serve as Congressional Clerks in the Senate or House of Representatives.

Requires the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and the House Committee on House Administration to each select at least six individuals for a one-year term to serve as employees in their respective chambers.

Specifies eligibility criteria for a Congressional Clerk, including that the selected candidate be a graduate of such a law school as of the starting date of his or her clerkship.

Requires the Committees to ensure that Congressional Clerks selected under this Act are apportioned equally between majority and minority party offices.

Entitles each clerk selected to the same compensation as, and comparable benefits to, an individual who holds the position of a judicial clerkship for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia within three months of graduating from law school.

Date: 2013-08-01
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Congress
Strengthening Congressional Oversight of Regulatory actions for Efficiency - Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to establish and maintain a separate Regulatory Analysis Division within CBO responsible for assessing the impact of federal rules and regulations.

Requires the Division to provide analysis:

 during the public comment period, of the prospective economic impact of economically significant proposed rules having an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or an adverse effect in a material way on the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or state, local, or tribal governments or communities; and of economically significant regulations that have been in effect for five years, including an analysis of costs and benefits to determine if the regulation is meeting the stated goals it was intended to meet.

Date: 2013-08-01
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Audit the Pentagon Act of 2013 - Provides that Department of Defense (DOD) financial statements shall cease to be covered by specified DOD financial reporting requirements upon the issuance of an unqualified audit opinion (UAO) on such statements.

Provides that if DOD obtains a UAO on its statement of budgetary resources for any fiscal year after FY2014, the limitation on the total amount of authorizations that the Secretary of Defense may transfer pursuant to general transfer authority in the national interest in the succeeding fiscal year shall be $8 billion. Sets forth thresholds for the reprogramming of funds that shall apply to increases or decreases to the program base amount for a procurement or research program or an operation and maintenance or military personnel budget activity for a military department, defense agency, or defense field activity that obtains a UAO on its statement of budgetary resources.

Requires additional qualifications and responsibilities of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and certain other DOD financial management officials if DOD fails to obtain a UAO on its general fund statement of budgetary resources for FY2015 by December 31, 2015.

Provides that if DOD fails to obtain a UAO on its general fund statement of budgetary resources for FY2018 by December 31, 2018, the reprogramming authority provided above will cease to apply. Requires, effective as of April 1, 2019, the reorganization of the position of DOD Chief Management Officer, with added qualifications and responsibilities.

Transfers jurisdiction of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service from DOD to the Department of the Treasury and requires the Secretary of the Treasury to administer such Service.

Provides that if a military department fails to obtain a UAO on its financial statements: (1) for FY2018 by December 31, 2018, the reprogramming authority provided above will cease to apply; and (2) for any fiscal year after 2017, amounts available to that department may not be obligated for a weapon or weapon system or platform being acquired under a major defense acquisition program for any activity beyond Milestone B approval not already obtained.

Directs the Secretary of Defense to amend the acquisition guidance of DOD to place specific limits on the procurement of any enterprise resource planning business system, including a three-year limit on its total procurement time from initial obligation of funds to full deployment and sustainment.

Date: 2013-09-17
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Grants Oversight and New Efficiency Act or the GONE Act - Directs the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to submit to Congress and the head of each federal agency a report that: (1) lists each covered grant account held by the federal government, (2) recommends which of such grants should be immediately closed, and (3) explains why any covered grant account that has been expired for more than 90 days has not been closed out. Requires each federal agency head that manages a covered grant account recommended for closure in such report to close such account not later than 180 days after the report is submitted. 

Defines "covered grant account" as a grant account in a federal agency payment management system that has a zero balance for more than 180 days and for which the grant award period has expired. 

Date: 2013-12-10
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Responsible Use of Taxpayer Dollars for Portraits Act of 2013 - Prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for production of a portrait of: (1) a Member of Congress, (2) the head of an executive agency, or (3) the head of an agency or office of the legislative branch.

Authorizes up to $20,000 in federal funds to pay for production of a portrait of an individual in line of succession to the presidency.

Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the use of:

 federal funds to publicly display a portrait of: (1) a Member of Congress, (2) the head of an executive agency, or (3) the head of an agency or office of the legislative branch; or nonfederal funds to produce a portrait of such individual, including, in the case of a portrait of an individual in line of succession to the presidency, the use of nonfederal funds to pay the entire cost of producing it or the portion of the cost that exceeds $20,000, if any.

Date: 2013-12-12
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Department of Commerce and the Workforce Consolidation Act - Establishes the Department of Commerce and the Workforce, headed by a Secretary of Commerce and the Workforce, as an executive department for the advancement of economic growth and job opportunities. Consolidates in such Department: (1) the Office of the Workforce, (2) the Patent and Trademark Office, (3) the Small Business Administration (SBA), (4) the Office of Economic Affairs and Statistics, (5) the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), (6) the International Trade Administration, (7) the Bureau of Industry and Security, (8) the Economic Development and Training Administration, (9) the Communications and Information Administration, and (10) the Office of Inspector General. Sets forth the powers and responsibilities of the Secretary.

Transfers: (1) specified functions and programs of the Departments of Commerce and Labor to the Department of Commerce and the Workforce, (2) all functions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to the Department of the Interior, and (3) all functions of the National Marine Fisheries Service of NOAA to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Eliminates: (1) the International Labor Comparisons program of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, (2) the career pathways innovation fund established under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, (3) the Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration program (4) grants for public telecommunications facilities, (5) the Baldridge Performance Excellence Program, (6) the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, (6) the Emergency Steel Guaranteed Loan Program, and (7) certain functions and programs of the Bureau of the Census.

Date: 2013-12-17
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Federal Information Technology Savings, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2013 - Modifies provisions relating to the position of Chief Information Officer (CIO) in federal agencies to require the appointment of not more than one CIO in the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy (DOE), Health and Human Services (HHS), Interior, Justice (DOJ), Labor, State, Transportation (DOT), Treasury, and Veterans Affairs (VA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Requires CIOs to: (1) be appointed or designated by the President, in consultation with relevant agency heads; (2) be chosen from among individuals who have demonstrated knowledge of information technology management practices and ability to manage such practices in large entities; and (3) be given enhanced authority in the budget planning process of an agency and the hiring of personnel who will have information technology responsibilities.

Expands the responsibilities of the Chief Information Officers Council to require the Council to: (1) develop cross-agency portfolio management practices and issue guidelines and practices for expansion of the federal enterprise architecture process, and (2) report to specified congressional committees on its activities. Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to examine and report on the effectiveness of the Council.

Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to make available to the public the cost, schedule, and performance data for at least 80% of all information technology investments in each federal agency to which this Act applies, unless the Director or the agency CIO determines that a waiver or limitation of such disclosure requirement is in the interests of national security.

Date: 2013-12-17
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Taxpayer Transparency Act of 2013 - Requires each communication funded by a federal agency for advertising or educational purposes to clearly state: (1) in the case of a printed communication, including mass mailings, signs, and billboards, that the communication is printed and published at taxpayer expense; and (2) in the case of a communication transmitted through radio, television, or the Internet, that the communication is produced and disseminated at taxpayer expense. Requires any such printed communication, including e-mails, to be of sufficient size to be clearly readable, to be set apart from the other contents of the communication, and to be printed with a reasonable degree of color contrast between the background and the printed statement. Exempts from such requirements: (1) information in or relating to a solicitation for offers for a federal contract or applications or submissions of a bid or proposal for a federal grant or other means of funding under a federal program; and (2) advertisements for employment opportunities, not including advertising materials developed for use in recruiting and retaining personnel for the Armed Forces.

Date: 2014-01-14
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Oversight Workforce Improvement Act of 2014 - Exempts from requirements relating to the authority of federal agencies to collect information for investigations: (1) information collected during any evaluation by the Federal Accountability and Spending Transparency Board; and (2) information collected during any audit, investigation, evaluation, or other review conducted by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency or any Office of the Inspector General, including any office of Special Inspector General.

Exempts from document disclosure requirements of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) information relating to the information security program or practices of a federal agency if disclosure could reasonably be expected to lead to, or result in, unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction of such information program or the information such program controls, processes, stores, or transmits.

Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to: (1) establish classification and pay standards for the Inspectors General of each federal agency; (2) set forth procedures for considering allegations of wrongdoing against the Special Counsel and Deputy Special Counsel (officials appointed to investigate prohibited personal practices and government waste and abuse); and (3) include within the membership of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency the Inspectors General of the Intelligence Community and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (currently, the Inspectors General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the CIA).

Date: 2014-01-16
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Sound Regulation Act of 2014 - Establishes additional requirements for rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), including:

 identification by a federal agency, in the context of a coherent conceptual framework and supported with objective data, of the nature and significance of the market failure, regulatory failure, or other problem that necessitates regulatory action and why other alternatives, such as market forces or state or local regulations, could not address the problem better than federal regulation;  establishment by an agency of an achievable objective for its regulatory action; development of at not less than three regulatory options, in addition to not regulating, that the agency estimates will provide the greatest benefits for the least cost in meeting the regulatory objective; an estimate by each agency of the costs and benefits of each regulatory option developed, at least to the extent the agency is able to exclude options whose costs exceed their benefits, and rank such options by cost from lowest to highest; publication for public comment of all analyses, documentation, and data relating to the requirements of this Act for a public comment period of not less than 30 days; establishment, by rule, of the specific cost-benefit analysis methodology appropriate to the functions and responsibilities of the agency and establishment of an appropriate period for review of new rules to assess their cost-effectiveness; justification of why the agency does not select the least-cost regulatory option as its proposed rule, and agency review, every four years, of all rules of the agency that are in effect and a determination, based on objective data, of whether the rules are working as intended, furthering their objectives, imposing unanticipated costs, or generating a net benefit. Requires the Comptroller General (GAO), for purposes of congressional review, to: (1)  examine each agency cost-benefit analysis for compliance with the requirements of this Act, including the agency methodology for such analysis; (2) examine risk analysis pertaining to the cost-benefit analysis; and (3) examine and report on agency quadrennial regulatory reviews for consistency with the requirements of this Act.

Date: 2014-03-10
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Government Reports Elimination Act of 2014 - Eliminates, modifies, or consolidates reporting requirements for the: (1) Department of Agriculture, (2) Department of Commerce, (3) Department of Defense (DOD), (4) Department of Education, (5) Department of Energy (DOE), (6) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), (7) Department of Homeland Security (DHS), (8) Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUD), (9) Department of Justice (DOJ), (10) Department of Labor, (11) Department of the Interior, (12) Department of State, (13) Department of the Treasury, (14) Department of Transportation (DOT), (15) Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), (16) Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), (17) Corporation for National and Community Service (18) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), (19) Federal Trade Commission (FTC), (20) General Services Administration (GSA), (21) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), (22) National Science Foundation (NSF), (23) Office of Personnel Management (OPM), (24) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), (25) Small Business Administration (SBA), (26) Social Security Administration (SSA), (27) Army Corps of Engineers, and (28) Executive Office of the President. Repeals or modifies reports relating to activities conducted by the intelligence community.

Date: 2014-03-11
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Taxpayer Right-to-Know Act - (Sec. 2) Defines "program" for purposes of this Act as an organized set of activities by one or more agencies directed toward a common purpose or goal.

Requires that the website of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) include a program inventory that identifies each program of the federal government, which shall include: (1) any activity that is commonly referred to as a program; (2) any activity specifically created by law, or referenced in law, as a program; (3) each program that has an application process; (4) each program for which financial awards are made on a competitive basis; and (5) any activity identified as a program activity in a budget request.

Requires, for each program identified in such program inventory: (1) an identification of the specific statute that authorizes the program and any program regulations; (2) an estimate of the number of individuals served by any program that provides grants or financial assistance and the beneficiaries who received financial assistance under the program; (3) an estimate of the number of full-time employees who administer the program and the number of such employees whose salary is paid, in full or part, by the federal government; (4) links to any evaluation, assessment, or program performance reviews by the agency, an Inspector General, or the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released during the preceding five years; and (5) financial information for each program required to be reported under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.

Requires the OMB Director to issue guidance to assist agencies in identifying how the program activities used in budget or appropriations accounts correspond with programs identified in the program inventory required by this Act. Authorizes the Director to issue guidance to agencies on how to more closely align programs in the program inventory for purposes of the President's annual budget submission to Congress.

(Sec. 3) Requires: (1) the OMB Director, not later than 120 days after the enactment of this Act, to prescribe regulations or other guidance to implement this Act; and (2) the implementation of this Act not later than 1 year after its enactment.

Date: 2014-03-12
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
National Regulatory Budget Act of 2014 - Establishes the Office of Regulatory Analysis in the executive branch as an independent establishment. Requires the Director of such Office to submit by January 30 of each year to the House Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Small Business and the Senate Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Small Business and Entrepreneurship a Report on National Regulatory Costs, which shall include: (1) regulatory costs imposed on regulated entities; (2) an analysis of any major changes in estimation methodology used by the Office since its last annual report; (3) an analysis of any major estimate changes caused by improved or inadequate data; and (4) recommendations on how regulations may be streamlined, simplified, and modernized, what regulations should be repealed, and how the federal government may reduce the cost of regulations without diminishing their effectiveness.

Requires the Director to publish in the Federal Register and on the website of the Office a regulatory analysis of each proposed covered federal rule (i.e., a rule, an information collection requirement, guidance, or a directive that imposes not less than $25 million in annual costs on regulated entities) and each proposed withdrawal or modification of a covered federal rule by an executive agency that imposes or reduces costs on a regulated entity.

Requires Congress, not later than July 31 of each year, to pass a bill establishing a National Regulatory Budget that sets an annual overall regulatory cost cap and an annual agency regulatory cost cap for each executive agency for the fiscal year beginning on October 1. Provides that the initial National Regulatory Budget shall take effect in FY2016.

Makes cooperation with the requests of the Director for information mandatory upon executive agencies. Imposes sanctions on such agencies for failure to provide timely information to the Director.

Prohibits an executive agency that exceeds the annual agency regulatory cost cap imposed by the National Regulatory Budget for a fiscal year from promulgating a new covered federal rule that increases regulatory costs.

Requires the Director to report to Congress on positions in the federal government that are duplicative of the work performed by the Office and on the effectiveness of regulatory analysis.

Date: 2014-03-25
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Amends the Revised Statutes to repeal the requirement that stationery for the Senate be purchased according to a bidding process, and related requirements.

Date: 2014-04-01
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Congress
Let Me Google That For You Act - Repeals the National Technical Information Act of 1988, effective one year after the enactment of this Act (thus abolishes the National Technical Information Service [NTIS]).

Directs: (1) the Secretary of Commerce, the Archivist of the United States, the Comptroller General (GAO), and the Commissioner of Social Security to consult with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine if any NTIS function is critical to the U.S. economy; (2) the Comptroller General to determine which of any such critical functions are not being carried out by any other agency or instrumentality of the federal government; and (3) the Secretary of Commerce, prior to the effective date of this Act, to submit to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Finance a written certification that all NTIS operations have been terminated.

Date: 2014-04-03
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Financial Regulatory Clarity Act of 2014 - Requires the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), before issuing a final regulation or order, to assess other federal regulations and orders to determine whether the agency's proposal is in conflict with, is inconsistent with, or is duplicative of such other regulations or orders and whether such other federal regulations or orders are outdated.

Date: 2014-09-16
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Reports Reduction Act of 2014 - Eliminates or modifies reporting requirements for programs of the: (1) Department of Agriculture (USDA), (2) Department of Defense (DOD), (3) Department of Education, (4) Department of Homeland Security (DHS), (5) U.S. Coast Guard, (6) Department of State, (7) Executive Office of the President, (8) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and (9) National Science Foundation (NSF).

Amends the Children's Health Act of 2000 to eliminate the report on blood lead screening tests received by children.

Amends the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to eliminate the annual reporting requirement on disbursements from the Oil Pollution Fund and the biennial report on the oil pollution research and development program.

Eliminates the annual report of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on the number of federally-assisted housing units under lease and their per unit cost to HUD.

Amends the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act to eliminate the reporting requirement on labor obligations.

Eliminates the annual report on investigations of travel costs of federal employees on official business.

Eliminates the requirement that the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States be compiled and published in printed form.

Date: 2014-11-13
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Inspectors General Streamlining Act - Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to authorize each federal agency inspector general, in conducting an audit, investigation, inspection, evaluation, or other review authorized by such Act, to compare any records with other records or non-federal records. Provides that such comparison of records shall not be considered a matching program for purposes of the Privacy Act of 1974 or any other provision of law.

Date: 2014-11-13
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome Act of 2014 or the SCRUB Act of 2014 - Establishes the Retrospective Regulatory Review Commission to review the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to identify, using specified criteria, rules and sets of rules that collectively implement a regulatory program that should be repealed to lower the cost of regulation to the economy, giving priority to major rules that: (1) have been in effect more than 15 years, (2) impose paperwork burdens that could be reduced substantially without significantly diminishing regulatory effectiveness, (3) impose disproportionately high costs on small business entities, and (4) could be strengthened in their effectiveness while reducing regulatory costs. Requires the Commission to establish a public website to make regulatory information accessible to the public at no cost.

Requires a federal agency that makes a new rule to: (1) repeal rules identified by the Commission to offset the cost to the economy of such new rule (cut-go procedures), and (2) include in the final issuance of such rule a plan for reviewing the rule not later than 10 years after it is promulgated. Requires the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to review and certify the accuracy of agency determinations of the cost of new rules.

Makes agency compliance with the requirements of this Act subject to judicial review.

Date: 2014-12-12
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Federal Sunset Act of 2015

 Establishes the Federal Agency Sunset Commission to: (1) submit to Congress a schedule for review by the Commission, at least once every 12 years, of the abolishment or reorganization of each federal executive agency, including advisory committees; (2) review and evaluate the efficiency and public need for each agency using specified criteria; (3) recommend whether each agency should be abolished or reorganized; and (4) report to Congress on all legislation introduced that would establish a new agency or a new program to be carried out by an existing agency. Requires the abolishment of any agency within one year of the Commission's review, unless the agency is reauthorized by Congress. Authorizes the deadline for abolishing an agency to be extended for an additional two years by legislation enacted by a super majority of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Terminates the Commission on December 31, 2034.

Directs the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, in cooperation with the Director of the Congressional Research Service, to prepare an inventory of federal programs within each agency, including the budget authority for each such program, to assist Congress and the Commission in carrying out the requirements of this Act.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics