[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 122 (Wednesday, October 4, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9843-S9844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         FINAL PASSAGE OF S. 1198, THE TRUTH IN REGULATING ACT

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I rise today to applaud the efforts of 
everyone who worked to pass S. 1198, the Truth in Regulating Act. Last 
evening, the House passed this important legislation, following the 
Senate's passage of the bill on May 9th of this year. I was pleased to 
learn of the final passage of this bill in the House, as this event 
marks the culmination of the hard work of many Senators, 
Representatives, and members of their staffs in achieving another 
milestone in our journey towards comprehensive regulatory reform.
  This legislation establishes a process for Congress to obtain reviews 
of economically significant rules. These reviews, to be performed by 
the General Accounting Office, will help Congress to better assess the 
impact of federal agency regulations. I am confident that the 
information which will be provided in these reports will enable 
Congress and the public to have a better understanding of the potential 
costs and benefits of these regulations, and I believe that these 
independent analyses will help federal agencies to develop the most 
efficient and beneficial regulations for all concerned.
  Mr. President, passage of this legislation would not have been 
possible without the hard work of several Senators on both sides of the 
aisle. Both Senator Shelby and Senator Thompson have been active in 
addressing this issue for quite some time, and the efforts of Senator 
Bond and the input of Senator Levin were also helpful to the process. 
Similarly, I know that Representatives Kelly and McIntosh worked hard 
on the House side to get the Truth in Regulating Act passed. The 
details of this legislation were worked out by countless hours of work 
by a number of staff members, both former and current, for these Senate 
and House members. In addition to members of my staff, these staff 
members include Paul Noe, Mark Oesterle, Suey Howe, Linda Gustitus, 
Meredith Matty, Barry Pineles, Larry McCredy, Barbara Kahlow, and Marlo 
Lewis.
  Mr. President, I look forward to the President signing this 
legislation.
  Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. President, I am pleased that last night the House 
passed on suspension the ``Truth in Regulating Act,'' S. 1198, and that 
this legislation will now be sent to the President. S. 1198 will 
support Congressional oversight to ensure that important regulatory 
decisions are cost-effective, well-reasoned, and fair.
  The foundation of the ``Truth in Regulating Act'' is the right of 
Congress and the people we serve to know about important regulatory 
decisions. Through the General Accounting Office, which serves as 
Congress' eyes and ears, this legislation will help us get access to 
the cost-benefit analysis, risk assessment, federalism assessment, and 
other key information underlying any important regulatory proposal. So, 
in a real sense, this legislation not only gives people the right to 
know; it gives them the right to see--to see how the government works, 
or doesn't. GAO will be responsible for providing an evaluation of the 
analysis underlying a proposed regulation, which will enable us to 
communicate better with the agency up-front. It will help us to ensure 
that the proposed regulation is sensible and consistent with Congress' 
intent before the horse gets out of the barn. It will help improve the 
quality of important regulations. This will contribute to the success 
of programs that the public values and improve public confidence in the 
Federal Government, which is a real concern today.
  Under the 3-year pilot project established by this legislation, a 
chairman or ranking member of a committee with legislative or general 
oversight jurisdiction, such as Governmental Affairs, may request the 
GAO to review a proposed economically significant rule and provide an 
independent evaluation of the agency regulatory analysis underlying the 
rule. The Comptroller General shall submit a report no later than 180 
days after a committee request is received. A requester may ask for the 
report sooner when needed, as may be the case where there is a short 
comment period or hearing schedule. The Comptroller General's report 
shall include an evaluation of the benefits of the rule, the costs of 
the rule, alternative regulatory approaches, and any cost-benefit 
analysis, risk assessment, and federalism assessment, as well as a 
summary of the results of the evaluation and the implications of those 
results for the rulemaking.
  It is my hope that the ``Truth in Regulating Act'' will encourage 
Federal agencies to make better use of modern decisionmaking tools, 
such as cost-benefit analysis and risk assessment. Currently, these 
important tools often are viewed simply as options--options that aren't 
used as much or as well as they should be. Over the years, the 
Governmental Affairs Committee has reviewed and developed a voluminous 
record showing that our regulatory process is not working as well as 
intended and is missing important opportunities to achieve more cost-
effective regulation. In April 1999, I chaired a hearing in which we 
heard testimony on the need for this proposal. The General Accounting 
Office has done important studies for Governmental Affairs and other 
committees showing that agency practices--in cost-benefit analysis, 
risk assessment, federalism assessments, and in meeting transparency 
and disclosure requirements of laws and executive orders--need 
significant improvement. Many other authorities support these findings. 
All of us benefit when government performs well and meets the needs of 
the people it serves.
  A lot of effort and collaboration went into this legislation, which I 
think is why the Senate and now the House could approve it with broad 
bipartisan

[[Page S9844]]

support. The Truth in Regulating Act is based on two initiatives--a 
bill originally sponsored by Senator Richard Shelby with Senators Lott 
and Bond, as well as a similar measure that I sponsored with Senators 
Lincoln, Voinovich, Kerrey, Breaux, Landrieu, Inhofe, Stevens, Bennett, 
Robb, Hagel, and Roth. I particularly appreciate that my colleagues on 
the other side of the aisle worked with me to pass this legislation. 
From the beginning, Senator Blanche Lincoln made this a bipartisan 
initiative by joining me as cosponsor. Later, Senator Joseph Lieberman, 
the Ranking Member of the Governmental Affairs Committee, worked with 
me to resolve his concerns before the Committee markup. This led the 
way for passage of this legislation through the Governmental Affairs 
Committee by voice vote and through the Senate by unanimous consent.
  Congresswoman Sue Kelly first proposed a bill for the congressional 
review of regulations in the 105th Congress. After the Senate passed S. 
1198 by unanimous consent in May of this year, Chairman Dan Burton of 
the Government Reform Committee advanced the bill through the House. I 
want to thank Chairman Burton for his leadership as well as Sue Kelly 
for her hard work that led to the final passage of the Truth in 
Regulating Act in the House.
  I congratulate my colleagues in the House and Senate for pulling 
together to get the job done.

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