[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 93 (Wednesday, June 6, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3225-S3226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2288. Mrs. ERNST (for herself and Ms. Heitkamp) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2282 submitted by Mr. 
Inhofe (for himself and Mr. McCain) and intended to be proposed to the 
bill H.R. 5515, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for 
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle F of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1066. REVIEW PROCEDURES RELATED TO THE CERTIFICATION.

       (a) In General.--Section 605(b) of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``Sections 603'';
       (2) in paragraph (1), as so designated--
       (A) by striking ``the preceding sentence'' and inserting 
     ``this subsection''; and
       (B) by striking ``statement to the Chief Counsel for 
     Advocacy of the Small Business Administration'' and inserting 
     ``statement providing the factual basis to the Chief Counsel 
     for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (in this 
     subsection referred to as the `Chief Counsel')''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2)(A) If the Chief Counsel disagrees with a 
     certification and statement providing the factual basis for 
     the certification published in the Federal Register under 
     paragraph (1) with respect to a proposed rule, the Chief 
     Counsel may, not later than 14 days after the date on which 
     the statement and factual basis were published in the Federal 
     Register, submit to the head of the Federal agency proposing 
     the rule a letter (in this paragraph referred to as an 
     `advisement letter') advising the head of the Federal agency 
     to--
       ``(i) review the certification and the detailed statement 
     submitted by the Chief Counsel under subparagraph (B); and
       ``(ii) reconsider the certification.
       ``(B) An advisement letter submitted by the Chief Counsel 
     under subparagraph (A) shall--
       ``(i) include a detailed statement of why the Chief Counsel 
     disagreed with the certification or the statement providing 
     the factual basis received under paragraph (1); and
       ``(ii) be published on the website of the Office of 
     Advocacy of the Small Business Administration.
       ``(C) Not later than 7 days after the date on which the 
     head of a Federal agency receives an advisement letter under 
     subparagraph (A)

[[Page S3226]]

     with respect to a proposed rule, the head of the Federal 
     agency shall--
       ``(i) publish in the Federal Register and on the website of 
     the Federal agency an acknowledgment of receipt of the 
     advisement letter;
       ``(ii) allow the public comment period for the rule to 
     remain open for a period of not less than 30 days; and
       ``(iii) if, during the 30-day period described in clause 
     (ii), the head of the Federal agency determines that the 
     certification and statement providing the factual basis 
     should be modified, shorten or eliminate the 30-day period.
       ``(D)(i) Not later than 30 days after the date on which the 
     Chief Counsel submits to the head of a Federal agency an 
     advisement letter under subparagraph (A), the Federal agency 
     shall submit to the Chief Counsel and publish in the Federal 
     Register and on the website of the Federal agency the results 
     of the review and reconsideration.
       ``(ii) If, after conducting the review and reconsideration 
     under subparagraph (A), the head of the Federal agency 
     determines--
       ``(I) that there was not a sufficient factual basis to 
     support the certification, the Federal agency shall perform 
     and publish in the Federal Register an initial regulatory 
     flexibility analysis under section 603, with an opportunity 
     for public comment, before promulgating the final rule;
       ``(II) that the certification was appropriate but the 
     factual basis was inadequate to support the certification, 
     the Federal agency shall revise the factual basis to support 
     the certification; or
       ``(III) that the certification was appropriate and the 
     factual basis was adequate to support the certification, the 
     Federal agency may continue with the rule making.''.
       (b) Judicial Review.--Section 611(a) of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``605(b)'' and inserting 
     ``605(b)(1)''; and
       (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``605(b)'' and inserting 
     ``605(b)(1)''.
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