[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 47 (Thursday, March 19, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1668-S1669]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DAINES:
  S. 826. A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to sunset rules 
after 10 years unless agencies undergo notice and comment rulemaking, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, when I travel across the State of Montana, 
from Alzada to Whitefish, I meet many different people and small 
businesses. Although the diversity of thought in Montana is self-
evident to anyone who has spent time there, everyone agrees on one 
thing. Regulation dictated by bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. is 
stifling entrepreneurial creativity, pushing opportunities overseas, 
and killing jobs.
  While many burdensome regulations are new, through adoption of laws 
such as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act and the Affordable Care 
Act, still many more have been on the books for years without review. 
In an evolving and dynamic economy, regulators should, at the very 
least, review their regulations on a periodic basis, allow for public 
input, and eliminate any rules that are either obsolete or unnecessary.
  Oftentimes, regulation has unintended consequences on Montana's small 
businesses. In discussions about the harmful impacts of regulations 
with Montanans, Vicki Bertelsen, who is the President of K&K Trucking 
in Great Falls, said, ``Burdensome reporting requirements eat up too 
many business hours every month. I would rather be growing my business 
than sending redundant [and] antiquated paperwork to the government.''
  With nearly 175,000 pages in the Code of Federal Regulations, it is 
easy to understand how regulations are keeping people from getting back 
to work.
  That is why today I am introducing the Regulatory Examination Vital 
for Improving and Evaluating Working Solutions, REVIEWS, Act. While 
this bill recognizes that many regulations serve a noble purpose in 
protecting consumers and natural resources, it also seeks to address a 
structural deficiency in government agencies which allow obsolete and 
unnecessary regulations to remain in the Code of Federal Regulations. 
Because agencies operate on limited resources, they focus their efforts 
on drafting new regulatory rules, rather than monitoring the rules that 
already exist. While most agency employees are well-intentioned, this 
structural deficiency places a greater emphasis on creating rules, 
rather than monitoring the application and effectiveness of existing 
rules, only to the detriment of Americans.
  The REVIEWS Act will require agencies to periodically review each 
regulation every ten years using the Notice and Comment process. This 
requirement will ensure that obsolete regulations are recognized and 
eliminated and that regulatory cost considerations are properly 
evaluated. If a rule is not reviewed at least every 10 years, it cannot 
be enforced in court. This requirement will provide public 
accountability and force regulators to periodically examine existing 
rules.
  It is my hope that this common sense bill will ultimately reduce the 
regulatory burden on Americans and allow them to freely pursue their 
ends, independently of government intervention.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 826

       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 ``Regulatory Examination Vital 
     for Improving and Evaluating Working Solutions Act of 2015'' 
     or the ``REVIEWS Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act, the terms ``agency'' and ``rule'' have the 
     meanings given those terms in section 551 of title 5, United 
     States Code.

     SEC. 3. REGULATORY SUNSET.

       (a) In General.--Section 553 of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

[[Page S1669]]

       ``(f) Effective Date of Rules.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), any 
     rule required to be promulgated in accordance with this 
     section shall cease to be effective on the date that is 10 
     years after the date on which the agency promulgates the 
     rule.
       ``(2) Exception.--The effective period of a rule described 
     in paragraph (1) may be extended for additional periods of 
     not more than 10 years if, before the date on which the rule 
     ceases to be effective, the agency that promulgated the rule 
     complies with the procedures under this section as if the 
     rule were a new rule to be issued by the agency.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made under subsection 
     (a) shall apply to a rule promulgated by an agency after the 
     date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT OF RULES.

       (a) Actions Reviewable.--Section 704 of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Agency action'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(a) In General.--Agency action''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) Clarification of Final Agency Action.--For purposes 
     of this section, the term `final agency action' includes 
     interpretative rules, general statements of policy, and rules 
     of agency organization, procedure, or practice issued by an 
     agency.''.
       (b) Review in Court of Appeals.--Section 2342 of title 28, 
     United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(8) all rules of an agency (as defined under section 551 
     of title 5) that--
       ``(A) ceased to be effective under section 553(f) of such 
     title; and
       ``(B) the agency continues to enforce.''.

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