[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3939 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3939

To require that the workforce of the Environmental Protection Agency be 
                         reduced by 15 percent.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 5, 2015

     Mr. Griffith (for himself, Mr. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. Kelly of 
   Pennsylvania, Mr. Mooney of West Virginia, Mr. Goodlatte, and Mr. 
  Jenkins of West Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 
 the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, Agriculture, and 
    Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require that the workforce of the Environmental Protection Agency be 
                         reduced by 15 percent.

    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 ``EPA Maximum Achievable Contraction 
of Technocrats Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) During the Government shutdown of 2013, the 
        Environmental Protection Agency deemed 95 percent of its 
        employees as ``non essential''.
            (2) The Environmental Protection Agency occupies space in 
        eight different buildings in the District of Columbia.
            (3) From 1975 to 2014 the number of Environmental 
        Protection Agency employees increased by 48 percent while the 
        number of total Federal personnel decreased by 17 percent.
            (4) In 2015, according to one study, complying with 
        Environmental Protection Agency regulations will cost the U.S. 
        economy $386 billion.
            (5) From 2009 to 2014, according to the Federal Register, 
        the Environmental Protection Agency has published and put into 
        effect 2,475 rules.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        the Environmental Protection Agency;
            (2) the term ``employee'' has the meaning given such term 
        by section 2105 of title 5, United States Code;
            (3) the term ``baseline date'' means the last day of the 
        second month beginning on or after the date of the enactment of 
        this Act; and
            (4) the term ``workforce reduction target date'' means the 
        date occurring 3 years after the baseline date.

SEC. 4. MANDATORY WORKFORCE REDUCTION.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall take such actions as may 
be necessary to ensure that--
            (1) the total number of employees in the Environmental 
        Protection Agency on the workforce reduction target date, does 
        not exceed
            (2) the total number of employees in the Environmental 
        Protection Agency on the baseline date, reduced by 15 percent.
    (b) Reporting Requirements.--In order to carry out this Act, the 
Administrator shall submit to Congress a written determination of--
            (1) the total number of employees in the Environmental 
        Protection Agency on the baseline date, not later than 30 days 
        after such date; and
            (2) the total number of employees in the Environmental 
        Protection Agency on the workforce reduction target date, not 
        later than 30 days after such date.
    (c) Extension Authority.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator may, if necessary 
        because timely compliance with subsection (a) is impracticable, 
        delay the deadline for compliance for a period not to exceed 1 
        year.
            (2) Notification.--If the authority under paragraph (1) is 
        exercised, the Administrator shall submit a written report to 
        Congress not later than 30 days after the date on which such 
        authority is so exercised. Such report shall include--
                    (A) notification that the authority under paragraph 
                (1) has been exercised;
                    (B) the reasons why the exercise of authority was 
                necessary; and
                    (C) the new deadline for compliance.
            (3) Final report.--Not later than 30 days after the date 
        referred to in paragraph (2)(C), the Administrator shall submit 
        to Congress--
                    (A) a written determination of compliance with the 
                limitation specified in subsection (a)(2), including 
                the total number of employees in the Environmental 
                Protection Agency as of the date referred to in 
                paragraph (2)(C); or
                    (B) a written determination of noncompliance with 
                the limitation specified in subsection (a)(2), 
                including the extent of and the reasons for the 
                noncompliance.
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