[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 133 (Saturday, August 6, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4245-S4247]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 5225. Mr. RISCH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill H.R. 5376, to provide for reconciliation pursuant to 
title II of S. Con. Res. 14; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

        At the end of title VII, add the following:

     SEC. 70008. REGULATORY REFORM.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
       (2) Agency rro.--The term ``agency RRO'' means the 
     Regulatory Reform Officer of an agency designated under 
     subsection (b)(1).
       (3) Costs.--The term ``costs'' means opportunity cost to 
     society.
       (4) Cost savings.--The term ``cost savings'' means the cost 
     imposed by a regulatory action that is eliminated by the 
     repeal, replacement, or modification of the regulatory 
     action.
       (5) Deregulatory action.--The term ``deregulatory action'' 
     means the repeal, replacement, or modification of an existing 
     regulatory action.
       (6) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
     the Office of Management and Budget.
       (7) Incremental regulatory cost.--The term ``incremental 
     regulatory cost'' means the difference between the estimated 
     cost of issuing a significant regulatory action and the 
     estimated cost saved by issuing any deregulatory action.
       (8) Regulation; rule.--The term ``regulation'' or ``rule'' 
     has the meaning given the term ``rule'' in section 551 of 
     title 5, United States Code.
       (9) Regulatory action.--The term ``regulatory action'' 
     means--
       (A) any regulation; and
       (B) any other regulatory guidance, statement of policy, 
     information collection request, form, or reporting, 
     recordkeeping, or disclosure requirements that imposes a 
     burden on the public or governs agency operations.
       (10) Significant regulatory action.--The term ``significant 
     regulatory action'' means any regulatory action, other than 
     monetary policy proposed or implemented by the Board of 
     Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Open 
     Market Committee, that is likely to--
       (A) have an annual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or 
     more or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a 
     sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the 
     environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or 
     Tribal governments or communities;
       (B) create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere 
     with an action taken or planned by another agency;
       (C) materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, 
     grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and 
     obligations of recipients thereof; or
       (D) raise a novel legal or policy issue.
       (11) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
     States, the District of Columbia, and each territory or 
     possession of the United States.
       (12) Task force.--The term ``Task Force'' means the 
     regulatory reform task force of an agency described in 
     subsection (b)(2).
       (b) Establishing Regulatory Reform Capacity.--
       (1) Regulatory reform officers.--
       (A) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (e), each 
     agency shall designate an employee or officer of the agency 
     as the Regulatory Reform Officer.
       (B) Duties.--In accordance with applicable law and in 
     consultation with relevant senior agency officials, each 
     agency RRO shall oversee--
       (i) the implementation of regulatory reform initiatives and 
     policies for the agency to ensure that the agency effectively 
     carries out regulatory reforms; and
       (ii) the termination of programs and activities that derive 
     from or implement statutes, Executive orders, guidance 
     documents, policy memoranda, rule interpretations, and 
     similar documents, or relevant portions thereof, that have 
     been repealed or rescinded.
       (2) Regulatory reform task forces.--
       (A) Establishment of agency task force; membership.--Except 
     as provided in subsection (e), not later than 60 days after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the head of each agency 
     shall appoint and may remove members to the regulatory reform 
     task force of the agency, which shall be composed of the 
     following members:
       (i) The agency RRO.
       (ii) A senior agency official from each relevant component 
     or office of the agency with significant authority for 
     issuing or repealing regulatory actions.
       (iii) Additional senior agency officials involved in the 
     development of rulemaking or other regulatory action at the 
     agency, as determined by the head of the agency.
       (B) Chair.--Unless otherwise designated by the head of the 
     agency, the agency RRO shall chair the Task Force of the 
     agency.
       (C) Joint task forces.--
       (i) In general.--For the consideration of a joint 
     rulemaking, the Director may form a joint regulatory reform 
     task force composed of not less than 1 member from the Task 
     Force of each relevant agency.
       (ii) Consultation.--Any joint regulatory reform task force 
     formed under this paragraph shall consult with each relevant 
     Task Force.
       (D) Duties.--Each Task Force shall--
       (i) conduct ongoing evaluations of regulations and other 
     regulatory actions and make recommendations that are 
     consistent with and that could be implemented in accordance 
     with applicable law to the head of the agency regarding 
     repeal, replacement, or modification of regulations and 
     regulatory actions; and
       (ii) to the extent practicable--

       (I) not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, complete a review of each regulation issued by the 
     agency;
       (II) for each regulation or regulatory action reviewed and 
     identified for repeal, replacement, or modification, estimate 
     the cost savings of the repeal, replacement, or modification, 
     as applicable; and
       (III) identify regulations that are appropriate for repeal, 
     replacement, or modification, and prioritize the evaluation 
     of regulations that--

       (aa) eliminate or have eliminated jobs or inhibit or have 
     inhibited job creation;
       (bb) are outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective;
       (cc) impose costs that exceed benefits;
       (dd) create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere 
     with regulatory reform initiatives and policies;
       (ee) were issued or are maintained in a manner that is 
     inconsistent with the requirements of section 515 of the 
     Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2001 (44 
     U.S.C. 3516 note), or the guidance issued pursuant to that 
     section, including any rule that relies in whole or in part 
     on data, information, or methods that are not publicly 
     available or that are insufficiently transparent to meet the 
     standard for reproducibility; or
       (ff) were made pursuant to or to implement statutes, 
     Executive orders, or other Presidential directives that have 
     been subsequently rescinded or substantially modified.

[[Page S4246]]

       (3) Consultation with stakeholders.--In performing the 
     tasks under this subsection, each agency RRO and Task Force--
       (A) shall seek input and other assistance from the public 
     and from entities significantly affected by regulations, 
     including State, local, and Tribal governments, small 
     businesses, consumers, non-governmental organizations, and 
     trade associations; and
       (B) may--
       (i) incorporate specific suggestions from stakeholders in 
     identifying the list of deregulatory actions to recommend to 
     the head of the agency; and
       (ii) accept or solicit input from the public in any manner, 
     if--

       (I) the process is transparent to the public and Congress;
       (II) a list of each meeting, a list of each stakeholder 
     that submitted a comment, and a copy of each written comment 
     are made publicly available online; and
       (III) the Task Force issues a public notice of any public 
     meeting to solicit input not less than 7 days before the 
     public meeting and makes detailed minutes of the meeting 
     available online not less than 7 days after the date of the 
     meeting.

       (4) Transparent regulatory reform.--
       (A) Website.--To the extent practicable, the head of each 
     agency shall publish information about the Task Force of the 
     agency and other regulatory reform initiatives on the website 
     of the agency--
       (i) which shall include--

       (I) a list of the members of the Task Force of the agency;
       (II) a copy of each report issued under this subsection; 
     and
       (III) a link to or copy of each notice of a meeting or 
     solicitation of public comments issued by the Task Force of 
     the agency; and

       (ii) which may include--

       (I) an online forum to receive comments from the public; 
     and
       (II) any other information about the Task Force or other 
     regulatory reform initiatives at the agency.

       (B) Report.--Not less frequently than twice per year, each 
     agency RRO shall submit to the head of the agency a report on 
     the activities performed under this section and any 
     recommendations resulting from those activities, which shall 
     be posted by the head of the agency on a publicly accessible 
     website and shall include the following:
       (i) A description of any improvement made toward 
     implementation of regulatory reform initiatives and policies.
       (ii) For each regulation or other regulatory action 
     reviewed by the Task Force, a detailed description of the 
     review.
       (iii) An inventory of each regulation or regulatory action 
     the Task Force recommends the agency consider for repeal, 
     replacement, or modification.
       (iv) A list of all activities conducted under paragraph 
     (3), a summary of all comments received, and a hyperlink to 
     copies of each public comment received.
       (c) Accountability.--
       (1) Incorporation in performance plans.--
       (A) In general.--Each agency listed in section 901(b)(1) of 
     title 31, United States Code, shall incorporate in the annual 
     performance plan of the agency required under section 1115(b) 
     of title 31, United States Code, performance indicators that 
     measure progress implementing this section.
       (B) OMB guidance.--The Director shall issue, and update as 
     necessary, guidance regarding the implementation of this 
     paragraph.
       (2) Performance assessment.--The head of each agency shall 
     consider the progress implementing this section in assessing 
     the performance of the Task Force of the agency and those 
     individuals responsible for developing and issuing agency 
     rules.
       (d) Regulatory Planning and Budget.--
       (1) Unified agenda and annual regulatory plan.--
       (A) Unified regulatory agenda.--During the months of April 
     and October of each year, the Director shall publish a 
     unified regulatory agenda, which shall include--
       (i) regulatory and deregulatory actions under development 
     or review at agencies;
       (ii) a Federal regulatory plan of all significant 
     regulatory actions and associated deregulatory actions that 
     agencies reasonably expect to issue in proposed or final form 
     in the current and following fiscal year; and
       (iii) all information required to be included in the 
     regulatory flexibility agenda under section 602 of title 5, 
     United States Code.
       (B) Agency submissions.--In accordance with guidance issued 
     by the Director and not less than 60 days before each date of 
     publication for the unified regulatory agenda under 
     subparagraph (A), the head of each agency shall submit to the 
     Director an agenda of all regulatory actions and deregulatory 
     actions under development at the agency, including the 
     following:
       (i) For each regulatory action and deregulatory action:

       (I) A regulation identifier number.
       (II) A brief summary of the action.
       (III) The legal authority for the action.
       (IV) Any legal deadline for the action.
       (V) The name and contact information for a knowledgeable 
     agency official.
       (VI) Any other information as required by the Director.

       (ii) An annual regulatory plan, which shall include a list 
     of each significant regulatory action the agency reasonably 
     expects to issue in proposed or final form in the current and 
     following fiscal year, including for each significant 
     regulatory action:

       (I) A summary, including the following:

       (aa) A statement of the regulatory objectives.
       (bb) The legal authority for the action.
       (cc) A statement of the need for the action.
       (dd) The agency's schedule for the action.

       (II) The estimated cost.
       (III) The estimated benefits.
       (IV) Any deregulatory action identified to offset the 
     estimated cost of such significant regulatory action and an 
     explanation of how the agency will continue to achieve 
     regulatory objectives if the deregulatory action is taken.
       (V) A best approximation of the total cost or savings and 
     any cost or savings associated with a deregulatory action.
       (VI) An estimate of the economic effects, including any 
     estimate of the net effect that such action will have on the 
     number of jobs in the United States, that was considered in 
     drafting the action, or, if such estimate is not available, a 
     statement affirming that no information on the economic 
     effects, including the effect on the number of jobs, of the 
     action has been considered.

       (iii) Information required under section 602 of title 5, 
     United States Code.
       (iv) Information required under any other law to be 
     reported by agencies about significant regulatory actions, as 
     determined by the Director.
       (2) Federal regulatory budget.--
       (A) Establishment.--In the April unified regulatory agenda 
     described in paragraph (1), the Director--
       (i) shall establish the annual Federal Regulatory Budget, 
     which specifies the net amount of incremental regulatory 
     costs allowed by the Federal Government and at each agency 
     for the next fiscal year; and
       (ii) may set the incremental regulatory cost allowance to 
     allow an increase, prohibit an increase, or require a 
     decrease of incremental regulatory costs.
       (B) Default net incremental regulatory cost.--If the 
     Director does not set a net amount of incremental regulatory 
     costs allowed for an agency, the net incremental regulatory 
     cost allowed shall be zero.
       (C) Balance rollover of incremental regulatory cost 
     allowance.--
       (i) In general.--If an agency does not exhaust all of the 
     incremental regulatory cost allowance for a fiscal year, the 
     balance may be added to the incremental regulatory cost 
     allowance for the subsequent fiscal year, without increasing 
     the incremental regulatory costs allowed for the Federal 
     Government for the subsequent fiscal year.
       (ii) Total carryover.--The Director shall identify the 
     total carryover incremental regulatory cost allowance 
     available to an agency in the Federal Regulatory Budget.
       (3) Significant regulatory action requirements.--Except as 
     otherwise required by law, a significant regulatory action 
     shall have no effect unless--
       (A) the--
       (i) head of the agency identifies not less than 2 
     deregulatory actions to offset the costs of the significant 
     regulatory action, and to the extent feasible, issues those 
     deregulatory actions before or on the same schedule as the 
     significant regulatory action;
       (ii) incremental costs of the significant regulatory action 
     as offset by any deregulatory action issued before or on the 
     same schedule as the significant regulatory action do not 
     cause the agency to exceed or contribute to the agency 
     exceeding the incremental regulatory cost allowance of the 
     agency for that fiscal year; and
       (iii) significant regulatory action was included on the 
     most recent version or update of the published unified 
     regulatory agenda; or
       (B) the issuance of the significant regulatory action was 
     approved in advance in writing by the Director and the 
     written approval is publicly available online prior to the 
     issuance of the significant regulatory action.
       (4) Guidance by omb.--
       (A) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish and issue 
     guidance on how agencies should comply with the requirements 
     of this subsection, which shall include the following:
       (i) A process for standardizing the measurement and 
     estimation of regulatory costs, including cost savings 
     associated with deregulatory actions.
       (ii) Standards for determining what qualifies as a 
     deregulatory action.
       (iii) Standards for determining the costs of existing 
     regulatory actions that are considered for repeal, 
     replacement, or modification.
       (iv) A process for accounting for costs in different fiscal 
     years.
       (v) Methods to oversee the issuance of significant 
     regulatory actions offset by cost savings achieved at 
     different times or by different agencies.
       (vi) Emergencies and other circumstances that may justify 
     individual waivers of the requirements of this section.
       (vii) Standards by which the Director will determine 
     whether a regulatory action or a collection of regulatory 
     actions qualifies as a significant regulatory action.
       (B) Updates to guidance.--The Director shall update the 
     guidance issued pursuant to this subsection as necessary.
       (e) Waiver.--

[[Page S4247]]

       (1) Waiver authority.--Upon the written request of the head 
     of an agency, the Director may issue a written waiver of the 
     requirements of subsection (b) if the Director determines 
     that the agency generally issues very few or no rules.
       (2) Revocation of waiver.--The Director may revoke at any 
     time a waiver issued under this subsection.
       (3) Public availability of waivers.--The Director shall 
     maintain a publicly available list of each agency that is 
     operating under a waiver issued under this subsection.
       (4) Requirement for waiver.--A waiver shall not be 
     effective unless the written waiver and the written request 
     of the agency are publicly available on the website of the 
     Office of Management and Budget.
                                 ______