[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 78 (Wednesday, May 20, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3188-S3190]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 17--ESTABLISHING A JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE 
                      TO ADDRESS REGULATORY REFORM

  Mr. ROUNDS (for himself, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Thune, Mr. Inhofe, Mrs. 
Capito, Mr. Risch, Mr. Hoeven, and Ms. Collins) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules and 
Administration:

                            S. Con. Res. 17

       Whereas there are more than 3,500 rules issued every year 
     by more than 50 Federal agencies;
       Whereas a rule is defined in section 551 of title 5, United 
     States Code, as ``the whole or part of an agency statement of 
     general or particular applicability and future effect 
     designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or 
     policy'';
       Whereas subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 
     5, United States Code (commonly known as the ``Administrative 
     Procedure Act'') established standards for the issuance of 
     rules using formal rulemaking and informal rulemaking 
     procedures;
       Whereas informal rulemaking, also known as ``notice and 
     comment'' rulemaking or ``section 553'' rulemaking, is the 
     most common type of rulemaking;
       Whereas in rulemaking proceedings, formal hearings must be 
     held and interested parties must be given the chance to 
     comment on the proposed rule or regulation, and once adopted, 
     the rule or regulation is required to be published in the 
     Federal Register;
       Whereas, according to a 2005 study commissioned by the 
     Small Business Administration, the cost of all rules in 
     effect was approximately $1,100,000,000,000 per year, more 
     than the people of the United States paid in Federal income 
     taxes in 2009;
       Whereas, according to the 2014 Ten Thousand Commandments 
     report by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the top 6 
     Federal rulemaking agencies (which, in 2013, were the 
     Departments of the Treasury, Commerce, Interior, Health and 
     Human Services, and Transportation and the Environmental 
     Protection Agency) account for 49.3 percent of all Federal 
     rules;
       Whereas, according to the 2014 Ten Thousand Commandments 
     report by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, small 
     businesses pay more in per-employee regulatory costs, and 
     firms with fewer than 20 employees pay an average of $10,585 
     per employee, compared to $7,755 for those with 500 or more 
     employees;
       Whereas, according to the 2014 Ten Thousand Commandments 
     report by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, regulatory 
     costs amount to an average of $14,974 per household, which is 
     23 percent of the average household income of $65,596 and 29 
     percent of the expenditure budget of $51,442;
       Whereas, according to a 2011 study by the Weidenbaum Center 
     at Washington University, it is estimated that the budgetary 
     cost of administering and enforcing Federal regulations by 
     Federal agencies for fiscal year 2012 amounted to more than 
     $57 billion (in 2005 dollars), which represents a 10.5 
     percent increase in 2 years;
       Whereas chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code (commonly 
     known as the ``Congressional Review Act'') established a 
     mechanism through which Congress could overturn Federal 
     regulations by enacting a joint resolution of disapproval;
       Whereas the Congressional Review Act requires that rules 
     that have a $100,000,000 effect or more on the economy are 
     submitted by agencies to both Houses of Congress and the 
     Government Accountability Office and have a delayed effective 
     date of not less than 60 days to pass a resolution of 
     disapproval rejecting the rule, which must be approved by the 
     President; and
       Whereas, since the enactment of the Congressional Review 
     Act in 1996, the procedures under the Act have been used 1 
     time to overturn a rule: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring),

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This resolution may be cited as the ``Regulation 
     Sensibility Through Oversight Restoration Resolution of 
     2015'' or the ``RESTORE Resolution of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE ON REGULATORY REFORM.

       There is established a joint select committee to be known 
     as the Joint Select Committee on Regulatory Reform 
     (hereinafter in this concurrent resolution referred to as the 
     ``Joint Select Committee'').

     SEC. 3. DUTIES OF JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``agency'' and 
     ``rule'' have the meanings given those terms in section 551 
     of title 5, United States Code.
       (b) Duties.--The Joint Select Committee shall--
       (1) conduct a systematic review of the process by which 
     rules are promulgated by agencies;
       (2) hold hearings on the effects of and how to reduce 
     regulatory overreach in all sectors of the economy;
       (3) conduct a review of the Code of Federal Regulations to 
     identify rules and sets of rules that should be repealed; and
       (4) submit to the Senate and the House of Representatives--
       (A) recommendations for legislation--
       (i) to create a process under which an agency, before 
     promulgating a rule, shall--

       (I) seek advice from Congress;
       (II) publish the proposed rule;
       (III) hold a public comment period on the proposed rule;
       (IV) seek advice from Congress based on the public 
     comments; and
       (V) hold issuance of the rule until Congress can review the 
     rule for a period of not more than 1 year; and

       (ii) to create a process to appropriately sunset as many 
     rules as possible;
       (B) recommendations for ways to reduce the financial burden 
     placed on the various sectors of the economy in order to 
     comply with rules;
       (C) an analysis of the feasibility of the creation of a 
     permanent Joint Committee on Rules Review in accordance with 
     subsection (c);
       (D) an analysis of the feasibility of requiring each agency 
     to submit each proposed rule of the agency to the appropriate 
     committees of Congress for review in a similar manner as set 
     forth for a permanent Joint Committee on Rules Review under 
     subsection (c); and
       (E) a list of rules and sets of rules that the Joint Select 
     Committee recommends should be repealed.
       (c) Analysis of Permanent Joint Committee on Rules 
     Review.--The Joint Select Committee shall analyze the 
     feasibility of the creation of a permanent Joint Committee on 
     Rules Review. The Joint Committee on Rules Review would--
       (1) review each proposed rule that an agency determines is 
     likely to have an annual effect on the economy of $50,000,000 
     or more before the agency promulgates the final rule;
       (2) require each agency to submit to the Committee--
       (A) the text of each proposed rule of the agency described 
     in paragraph (1); and
       (B) an analysis of the economic impact of the rule on the 
     economy;
       (3) require each agency to revise a proposed rule submitted 
     under paragraph (2) if the Committee determines that the 
     proposed rule--

[[Page S3189]]

       (A) needs to be significantly rewritten to accomplish the 
     intent of the agency or address the recommendations or 
     objections of the Committee;
       (B) is not a valid exercise of delegated authority from 
     Congress;
       (C) is not in proper form;
       (D) is inconsistent with the intent of Congress with 
     respect to the provision of law that the proposed rule 
     implements; or
       (E) is not a reasonable implementation of the law;
       (4) delay the effective date of a proposed rule for a 
     period of not more than 1 year beginning on the date on which 
     the agency submits the proposed rule under paragraph (2);
       (5) allow an agency to promulgate a final rule without any 
     delay in the effective date of the rule if the agency 
     designates the rule as an emergency rule, unless the 
     Committee by majority vote determines that the rule is not an 
     emergency rule; and
       (6) if applicable, recommend that Congress should overturn 
     a final rule promulgated by an agency by enacting a joint 
     resolution of disapproval.

     SEC. 4. COMPOSITION OF JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE.

       (a) Membership.--
       (1) In general.--The Joint Select Committee shall be 
     composed of 30 members, of whom--
       (A) 15 shall be appointed by the majority and the minority 
     leaders of the Senate from among Members of the Senate in a 
     manner that reflects the ratio of the number of Members of 
     the Senate from the majority party to the number of Members 
     of the Senate from the minority party on the date of 
     enactment of this Act; and
       (B) 15 shall be appointed by the Speaker and the minority 
     leader of the House of Representatives among Members of the 
     House of Representatives in a manner that reflects the ratio 
     of the number of members of the House of Representatives from 
     the majority party to the number of Members of the House of 
     Representatives from the minority party on the date of 
     enactment of this Act.
       (2) Date.--The appointments of the members of the Joint 
     Select Committee shall be made not later than 30 days after 
     the date of adoption of this concurrent resolution.
       (b) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Joint Select Committee 
     shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same 
     manner as the original appointment.
       (c) Chairperson and Vice Chairperson.--
       (1) Chairperson.--The members of the Joint Select Committee 
     shall elect a Chairperson for the Joint Select Committee by 
     majority vote from each of--
       (A) the members of the majority party of the Senate; and
       (B) the members of the majority party of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (2) Vice chairperson.--The members of the Joint Select 
     Committee shall elect a Vice Chairperson for the Joint Select 
     Committee by majority vote from each of--
       (A) the members of the minority party of the Senate; and
       (B) the members of the minority party of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (d) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Joint Select 
     Committee each from the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of 
     conducting the business of the Joint Select Committee.

     SEC. 5. RULES AND PROCEDURES.

       (a) Governance Under Standing Rules of the Senate.--Except 
     as otherwise specifically provided in this resolution, the 
     investigations and hearings conducted by the Joint Select 
     Committee shall be governed by the Standing Rules of the 
     Senate.
       (b) Additional Rules and Procedures.--The Joint Select 
     Committee may adopt such additional rules or procedures if 
     the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson agree, or if the Joint 
     Select Committee by majority vote so decides, that such 
     additional rules or procedures are necessary or advisable to 
     conduct the duties of the Joint Select Committee.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORITY OF JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE.

       (a) In General.--The Joint Select Committee may exercise 
     all of the powers and responsibilities of a committee under 
     rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.
       (b) Powers.--The Joint Select Committee may, for the 
     purpose of carrying out this resolution--
       (1) hold such hearings, sit and act at such times and 
     places, take such testimony, receive such evidence, and 
     administer such oaths as the Joint Select Committee considers 
     advisable; and
       (2) authorize and require, by issuance of subpoena or 
     otherwise, the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the 
     preservation and production of books, records, 
     correspondence, memoranda, papers, documents, tapes, and any 
     other materials in whatever form the Joint Select Committee 
     considers advisable.
       (c) Subpoenas.--Subpoenas authorized by the Joint Select 
     Committee--
       (1) may be issued with the joint concurrence of the 
     Chairperson and Vice Chairperson;
       (2) shall bear the signature of the Chairperson and Vice 
     Chairperson, or the designee of the Chairperson or Vice 
     Chairperson; and
       (3) shall be served by any person or class of persons 
     designated by the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson for that 
     purpose anywhere within or without the borders of the United 
     States to the full extent provided by law.
       (d) Access to Information.--The Joint Select Committee 
     shall have, to the fullest extent permitted by law, access to 
     any such information or materials obtained by any other 
     department or agency of the Federal Government or by any 
     other governmental department, agency, or body investigating 
     the matters described in section 3(b).
       (e) Cooperation of Other Committees.--In carrying out the 
     duties of the Joint Select Committee, the Joint Select 
     Committee may obtain the input and cooperation of any other 
     standing committee of the Senate or the House of 
     Representatives.

     SEC. 7. REPORTS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date on 
     which the Joint Select Committee terminates, the Joint Select 
     Committee shall submit to the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives a report, which shall contain--
       (1) the results and findings of the reviews and hearings 
     carried out by the Joint Select Committee pursuant to this 
     resolution; and
       (2) any information required to be submitted under section 
     3(b)(4).
       (b) Interim Reports.--The Joint Select Committee may submit 
     to the Senate and the House of Representatives such interim 
     reports as the Joint Select Committee considers appropriate.

     SEC. 8. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

       (a) Staff.--
       (1) In general.--The Joint Select Committee may employ in 
     accordance with paragraph (2) a staff composed of such 
     clerical, investigatory, legal, technical, and other 
     personnel as the Joint Select Committee considers necessary 
     or appropriate.
       (2) Appointment of staff.--
       (A) In general.--The Joint Select Committee shall appoint a 
     staff for the majority, a staff for the minority, and a 
     nondesignated staff.
       (B) Majority staff.--The majority staff shall be appointed, 
     and may be removed, by the Chairperson and shall work under 
     the general supervision and direction of the Chairperson.
       (C) Minority staff.--The minority staff shall be appointed, 
     and may be removed, by the Vice Chairperson and shall work 
     under the general supervision and direction of the Vice 
     Chairperson.
       (D) Nondesignated staff.--Nondesignated staff shall be 
     appointed, and may be removed, jointly by the Chairperson and 
     Vice Chairperson, and shall work under the joint general 
     supervision and direction of the Chairperson and Vice 
     Chairperson.
       (b) Compensation.--
       (1) Majority staff.--The Chairperson shall fix the 
     compensation of all personnel of the majority staff of the 
     Joint Select Committee.
       (2) Minority staff.--The Vice Chairperson shall fix the 
     compensation of all personnel of the minority staff of the 
     Joint Select Committee.
       (3) Nondesignated staff.--The Chairperson and Vice 
     Chairperson shall jointly fix the compensation of all 
     nondesignated staff of the Joint Select Committee.
       (4) Pay and benefits.--All employees of the Joint Select 
     Committee shall be treated as employees of the Senate for 
     purposes of disbursing pay and processing benefits.
       (c) Facilities.--The Joint Select Committee may use, with 
     the prior consent of the chair of any other committee of the 
     Senate or the House of Representatives or the chair of any 
     subcommittee of any committee of the Senate or the House of 
     Representatives, the facilities of any other committee of the 
     Senate or the House of Representatives, whenever the Joint 
     Select Committee or the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson 
     consider that such action is necessary or appropriate to 
     enable the Joint Select Committee to carry out the 
     responsibilities, duties, or functions of the Joint Select 
     Committee under this resolution.
       (d) Detail of Employees.--The Joint Select Committee may 
     use on a reimbursable basis, with the prior consent of the 
     head of the department or agency of the Federal Government 
     concerned and the approval of the Committee on Rules and 
     Administration of the Senate, the services of personnel of 
     the department or agency.
       (e) Temporary and Intermittent Services.--The Joint Select 
     Committee may procure the temporary or intermittent services 
     of individual consultants or organizations.
       (f) Ethics.--The Joint Select Committee shall establish 
     ethical rules for the members and employees of the Joint 
     Select Committee, which shall, to the extent practicable, be 
     comparable to the ethical rules that apply to employees of 
     the Senate.
       (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the expenses of 
     the Joint Select Committee, there are authorized to be 
     appropriated $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2016, to remain 
     available until expended.

     SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE; TERMINATION.

       (a) Effective Date.--This resolution shall take effect on 
     the date of adoption of this concurrent resolution.
       (b) Termination.--The Joint Select Committee shall 
     terminate on the date that is 1 year after the appointment of 
     the members of the Joint Select Committee.
       (c) Disposition of Records.--Upon termination of the Joint 
     Select Committee, the records of the Joint Select Committee 
     shall become the records of any committee or committees 
     designated by the majority leader of the Senate and the 
     Speaker of the House of Representatives, with the concurrence 
     of the minority leader of the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives.

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