[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 89 (Monday, June 15, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H6773-H6775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT IMPROVEMENT ACT

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 2247) 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. 2247

       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 of text of rules 
     and certain other materials to both houses of congress.--
     Subsection (a)(1) is amended--

[[Page H6774]]

       (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 gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             General Leave

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days to extend and revise their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  H.R. 2247, the Congressional Review Act Improvement Act, would cut 
governmental waste by reducing duplicative paperwork and relieving some 
of the administrative burdens currently mandated by the Congressional 
Review Act.
  The Congressional Review Act is the congressional mechanism for 
reviewing agency rules. It currently requires that when an agency 
promulgates a rule, it must submit documents to both Houses of Congress 
and to the Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office.
  The agency must submit a report that contains a copy of the rule, a 
concise general statement describing it, and its proposed effective 
date. Thus, under current law, the same material is submitted to, 
housed in, and printed by four different government entities.
  This approach creates unnecessary burdens. For example, the House 
Parliamentarian has testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee 
on Commercial and Administrative Law 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 bill eliminates the requirement that agencies submit copies of 
rules with accompanying reports to each House of Congress. Instead, the 
House and Senate will receive a weekly list of all rules from the 
Comptroller General. The House and Senate would then have the list 
printed in the Congressional Record with a statement of referral for 
each rule.
  Under the bill, the House and Senate retain the option to directly 
obtain reports on major rules. Importantly, the bill makes no changes 
to the authority of Congress under the Congressional Review Act to 
disapprove agency rules. What it basically does is it cuts out some 
unnecessary paperwork and saves forests.
  I thank Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Ranking Member 
Lamar Smith, and Trent Franks, ranking member of the Subcommittee on 
Commercial and Administrative Law, for being original cosponsors of 
this bill with me.
  This is a commonsense bill that rightfully has strong bipartisan 
support. I urge my colleagues to support it.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleague in support of H.R. 
2247, the Congressional Review Act Improvement Act.
  The Congressional Review Act provides Congress with a vital but 
underused tool to oversee how agencies exercise the legislative 
authority Congress delegates to them. This bipartisan reform, the 
Congressional Review Act Improvement Act, is an important first step 
towards improving the act's efficiency and effectiveness. It is a 
measure first proposed in the 106th Congress by the late Henry Hyde. It 
had bipartisan support then, just as it does today.
  This legislation will streamline the House Parliamentarian's role 
under the Congressional Review Act, shifting some of the 
Parliamentarian's paperwork responsibilities to the Comptroller 
General.
  The day-to-day volume of paperwork that the small staff of the 
Parliamentarian's office confronts under the act is large. By reducing 
this burden on the Parliamentarian, this bill will improve the 
efficiency of House operations while at the same time not hampering 
oversight of agency rules.
  We obtained this measure's passage in the last Congress, but the 
Senate, unfortunately, did not act upon it. I urge the House to pass it 
again this term, and I am hopeful the Senate will pass it as well. The 
goal is to provide assistance to the overworked Parliamentarian's 
office.
  I have remained grateful to the Parliamentarian's office ever since 
the first time in my first term here I went up to be Speaker pro tem 
and was advised by the Parliamentarian to be careful when I leaned back 
because the chair didn't have much back support, therefore averting me 
from on-camera falling back and flailing my arms, as I would have 
without the Parliamentarian's assistance.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of H.R. 2247, the ``Congressional Review Act Improvement Act.'' I would 
like to thank my colleague, Congressman Steve Cohen, for introducing 
this bill, and for providing leadership on this important issue.
  I support this bill. It eliminates waste by requiring that federal 
agencies must submit specified information about a rule to both Houses 
of Congress before such rule can take effect; (thus requiring that the 
information be submitted to only the Comptroller General). Moreover, it 
requires the Comptroller General to submit to each House a weekly 
report containing a list of the rules received, including a notation 
identifying each major rule.
  These reductions 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.
  H.R. 2247 amends the current law. The primary purpose of the 
legislation is to have the Comptroller general replace congress. H.R. 
2247 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, the Comptroller General will send out 
the weekly list of rules to both the House and the Senate from the GAO, 
and then the Comptroller General would put that list in the 
Congressional Record.
  This bill eliminates the excessive duplication and printing of rules. 
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.

[[Page H6775]]

  Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I yield back the balance of 
my time and urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I too would yield the balance of my time and 
ask for a favorable vote on the proposition before us, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2247, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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