[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 94 (Monday, June 9, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H5064-H5065]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT IMPROVEMENT ACT

  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the 
rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5593) to amend title 5, United States 
Code, to make technical amendments to certain provisions of title 5, 
United States Code, enacted by the Congressional Review Act, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5593

       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 ``Congressional Review Act 
     Improvement Act''.

     SEC. 2. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO THE CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT.

       (a) Government Paperwork Reduction.--Section 801 of title 
     5, United States Code, is amended as follows:
       (1) Repeal of requirement for submittal to both houses of 
     congress of rules otherwise published in the federal 
     register.--Subsection (a)(1) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``each House of the Congress and to'' in 
     subparagraph (A);
       (B) by striking ``each House of'', and inserting ``on 
     request'' after ``Congress'', in subparagraph (B); and
       (C) by striking subparagraph (C).
       (2) Listing in congressional record of each rule received 
     by the comptroller general.--Subsection (e) is amended to 
     read as follows:
       ``(e)(1) The Comptroller General shall submit to each House 
     of Congress a weekly report containing a list of each rule 
     received by the Comptroller General pursuant to subsection 
     (a) since the last such report was submitted. The report 
     shall include a notation for each such rule indicating 
     whether or not the rule is a major rule.
       ``(2) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall 
     cause to be published in the Congressional Record, in that 
     portion of the Record relating to the proceedings of the 
     House of Representatives, each report received from the 
     Comptroller General under paragraph (1) since the last such 
     publication in the House portion of the Record and, for each 
     rule listed in such report, a statement of referral by the 
     Speaker to the committee or committees of the House with 
     responsibility for review of that rule.
       ``(3) There shall be published in the Congressional Record, 
     in that portion of the Record relating to the proceedings of 
     the Senate, each report received from the Comptroller General 
     under paragraph (1) since the last such publication in the 
     Senate portion of the Record and, for each rule listed in 
     such report, a statement of the referral, if any, to the 
     committee or committees of the Senate with responsibility for 
     review of that rule.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--Chapter 8 of such title is 
     further amended--
       (1) in section 801(a)(3)(A)(i), by striking ``Congress'' 
     and inserting ``Comptroller General'';
       (2) in section 801(a)(4), by striking ``Congress'' and 
     inserting ``the Comptroller General'';
       (3) in section 801(d)(2)(B), by striking ``Congress'' and 
     inserting ``the Comptroller General'';
       (4) in section 802(a), by striking ``Congress'' the first 
     place it appears and inserting ``the Comptroller General''; 
     and
       (5) in section 802(b)(2)(A), by striking ``Congress'' and 
     inserting ``Comptroller General''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall 
     take effect 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) and the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King) 
each will control 20 minutes.

[[Page H5065]]

  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  H.R. 5593, the Congressional Review Act Improvement Act, would cut 
government waste by reducing duplicative paperwork and relieving some 
of the administrative burdens currently mandated by the Congressional 
Review Act, the congressional mechanism for reviewing agency rules.
  The Congressional Review Act requires that all agencies promulgating 
a rule submit to both Houses of Congress and to the Comptroller General 
a report that contains a copy of the rule, a concise general statement 
describing the rule, and the proposed effective date of the rule. Thus, 
under current law, the same material is submitted to, housed in, and 
printed by four different governmental entities. This approach creates 
unnecessary burdens. For example, the House Parliamentarian has 
testified before the Subcommittee on Administration of the Judiciary 
Committee in three separate Congresses about the ever-increasing volume 
of executive branch communications under the Congressional Review Act 
and its overwhelming impact on the operations of the Parliamentarian's 
office.
  This legislation would eliminate the requirement that agencies submit 
rules to each House of Congress if they are already printed in the 
Federal Register. Instead, the House and Senate would receive a weekly 
list of all rules from the Comptroller General. The House and Senate 
would then have that list printed in the Congressional Record with a 
statement of referral for each rule.
  The bill would still require agencies to submit rules and reports to 
each House of Congress that were not printed in the Federal Register, 
and Congress could still employ the procedures in the Congressional 
Review Act to disapprove agency rules.
  H.R. 5593 was introduced by Commercial and Administrative Law 
Subcommittee Chair Linda Sanchez, along with Judiciary Committee 
Chairman John Conyers. They were joined by Ranking Member Lamar Smith 
and Subcommittee Ranking Member Chris Cannon as original cosponsors. 
This bill has bipartisan support, and makes a lot of sense. I would 
urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Review Act provides Congress with a 
vital tool to oversee how agencies exercise their legislative authority 
Congress delegates to them.
  The act has a great deal of promise, but unfortunately is used too 
little. Republicans on the Judiciary Committee have worked long, hard, 
and in a bipartisan fashion to help identify ways in which we can 
prompt its better use. Today, we begin the process of improving the act 
with one of those measures. H.R. 5593 streamlines the act's processing 
requirements, lightening the burden on the House Parliamentarian's 
office.
  This is a measure first proposed in the 106th Congress by our much 
loved, revered, and respected former chairman, the late Henry Hyde. It 
had bipartisan support then as it does today, Mr. Speaker.
  I applaud the House's consideration of this bill, and I hope that its 
swift enactment is but the first of key improvements we can make so 
that the act is both more efficient and more effective.
  I urge its adoption.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of H.R. 5593, the ``Congressional Review Improvement Act.'' I am proud 
to join my colleagues in cosponsoring this timely legislation. I would 
like to thank my colleague, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, for 
introducing this bill, and for providing leadership on this important 
issue.
  I support this bill. It eliminates waste by minimizing the production 
of paper that is required to be provided to Congress. It should reduce 
duplicative paperwork and eliminate waste. These reduction and 
minimization of waste standards provided by this bill should result in 
a substantial cost savings to the Federal Government. In times like we 
are in now, it is important that the Government cut costs. I support 
this bill. It is a first step in cutting needless and excessive costs.
  The congressional review mechanism of agency rules, known as the 
Congressional Review Act, CRA, requires that all agencies promulgating 
a rule must submit a report to both Houses of Congress and to the GAO. 
According to the CRA, the report must contain a copy of the rule, a 
concise general statement describing the rule, and the proposed 
effective date of the rule. A rule cannot take effect if the report is 
not submitted. Each House must then send a copy of the report to the 
chairman and the ranking member of each jurisdictional committee. The 
promulgating agency must then submit to the GAO: (1) a complete copy of 
the cost-benefit analysis; (2) a description of the agency's actions; 
and (3) other relevant information required under any other act or 
executive order. This information must also be made available to each 
House.
  H.R. 5593 amends the current law, to reduce paperwork. The primary 
purpose of the legislation is to ensure that the same material is not 
submitted, housed, and printed at four different Government entities. 
H.R. 5593 eliminates the requirement that agencies submit paper copies 
of their rules that are printed in the Federal Register to each House 
while continuing a referral of all rules printed in the Federal 
Register and the periodic indication of those referrals in the 
Congressional Record. Instead, both the House and Senate would receive 
a weekly list of rules from the GAO and then the House and Senate would 
put that list in the Congressional Record.
  This bill eliminates the excessive duplication and printing of rules. 
No longer are the rules housed at four Government agencies. Under this 
bill, the House would receive a weekly list of rules that would then be 
added to the Congressional Record. This bill adds a commonsense 
approach to rulemaking, the printing, publication and dissemination of 
those rules. It is simple and the reforms that it brings should yield a 
substantial cost savings to the U.S. Treasury.
  I am proud to support this bill because it eliminates duplicative and 
needless paperwork and should provide a cost savings. I urge my 
colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, once again, I urge 
adoption of this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5593, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________