[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2636 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2636

   To direct the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to 
 establish commissions to review regulations issued by certain Federal 
                       departments and agencies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 14, 1993

    Mr. Thomas of Wyoming (for himself, Mr. Zimmer, and Mr. Schiff) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                         Government Operations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to 
 establish commissions to review regulations issued by certain Federal 
                       departments and agencies.

    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 ``Commissions on Regulatory Reform Act 
of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDING AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Finding.--The Congress finds that Federal regulations have 
placed an unprecedented burden on all private citizens of the United 
States, to the extent that economic growth is significantly hampered.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to demonstrate the need to 
reexamine the policies and procedures of Federal agencies which impose 
regulatory burden, to determine what changes are necessary and 
desirable in those policies and procedures.

SEC. 3. REVIEW OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Each of the commissions established under section 
4 by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (hereinafter 
in this Act referred to as the ``Director'') shall review in accordance 
with this section the regulations issued by the department or agency 
with respect to which the commission is established.
    (b) Standards for Review.--In reviewing regulations under this 
section, a commission shall examine and determine the following:
            (1) Whether the regulations are--
                    (A) within the scope of authority of the statutes 
                under which the regulations were issued; and
                    (B) in accordance with the original intent of the 
                Congress in approving those statutes.
            (2) Whether administrative decisions made under the 
        regulations were based on adequate information concerning the 
        need for and consequences of proposed Government action.
            (3) Whether regulatory action was taken only in instances 
        where potential economic benefits to society of taking an 
        action have exceeded the economic costs to society of taking 
        the action.
            (4) Whether the objectives of regulatory actions were 
        selected to minimize net economic costs to society.
            (5) Whether in selecting among alternative approaches for 
        achieving objectives of regulatory actions, the alternative 
        selected was the alternative involving the least net economic 
        cost to society.
            (6) Whether Federal agencies, in selecting regulatory 
        priorities, have taken into account--
                    (A) the condition of the particular employers and 
                employees affected by regulatory actions;
                    (B) the condition of the regional and national 
                economy; and
                    (C) other Federal regulatory actions being 
                considered.
    (c) Consultation and Comment.--In carrying out reviews under this 
section, a commission shall--
            (1) consult with the Congress; and
            (2) solicit and consider views and suggestions of persons 
        affected by the regulations reviewed by the commission.
    (d) Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Each commission established under section 
        4 shall submit reports in accordance with this subsection to 
        the Director, the head of the department or agency with respect 
        to which the commission is established, and the Congress. The 
        reports shall consist of--
                    (A) an interim report submitted by not later than 1 
                year after the completion of appointments of the 
                members of the commission;
                    (B) an interim report submitted by not later than 2 
                years after the completion of those appointments; and
                    (C) a final report submitted by not later than 3 
                years after the completion of those appointments.
            (2) Contents.--Each report under this subsection shall 
        describe the determinations made by the commission under each 
        of paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6) of subsection 
        (b) for the period covered by the report.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSIONS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish 5 commissions to 
carry out reviews under section 3. Of the commissions established under 
this section--
            (1) 1 shall be established with respect to each of--
                    (A) the Environmental Protection Agency;
                    (B) the Occupational Safety and Health 
                Administration; and
                    (C) the Health Care Financing Administration; and
            (2) 1 shall be established with respect to each of 2 
        Federal departments or agencies selected by the Director.
    (b) Membership.--Each commission established under this section 
shall be composed of 14 members as follows:
            (1) 2 members of the Senate appointed by the President pro 
        tempore of the Senate, who shall be members of different 
        political parties.
            (2) 2 members appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives, who shall be members of different political 
        parties.
            (3) 5 members appointed by the President from among persons 
        affected by regulatory actions of the department or agency with 
        respect to which the commission is established, of whom not 
        more than 3 may be members of the same political party.
            (4) 5 members appointed by the head of the department or 
        agency with respect to which the commission is established, 
        from among the career employees of the agency.
    (c) Compensation.--A member of a commission may not receive any 
additional compensation by reason of service on the commission.
    (d) Expenses.--The head of a Federal department or agency with 
respect to which a commission is established under this section shall 
pay the expenses incurred by the commission in carrying out this Act.
    (e) Termination.--A commission established by this section shall 
terminate on the date the commission submits a final report under 
section 3(d)(1)(C).

                                 <all>