[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 122 (Monday, July 17, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H3619-H3620]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROVIDING ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2023
Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 111) to require each agency, in providing notice of a
rulemaking, to include a link to a 100-word plain language summary of
the proposed rule.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 111
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 ``Providing Accountability
Through Transparency Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO POST A 100-WORD SUMMARY TO
REGULATIONS.GOV.
Section 553(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) the Internet address of a summary of not more than
100 words in length of the proposed rule, in plain language,
that shall be posted on the Internet website under section
206(d) of the E-Government Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 note)
(commonly known as regulations.gov).''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Van Drew) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
General Leave
Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on S. 111.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 111, the Providing
Accountability Through Transparency Act of 2023.
We have already spent a lot of time in this Congress exposing the
problems of the administrative state. Agencies impose rules on the
American people that lack popular support and would never get through
the House and Senate to become law.
One of the major problems is that agencies are less transparent and
have much less accountability than we do here in Congress.
The Administrative Procedure Act requires agencies to make certain
disclosures when they propose those rules. Some of these explanations
can be dense and bureaucratic and may not always help Americans quickly
grasp what agencies plan to do.
This bill is a commonsense approach to increasing agency transparency
and accountability. It requires agencies to provide a link to a plain
language summary of 100 words or less for proposed rules.
This requirement is a simple, easy way to help the American people
better understand what the rules are that agencies may impose. I urge
Members to support this bill. It is good, it is strong, it is simple,
and it is bipartisan.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 111, the Providing
Accountability Through Transparency Act of 2023.
This simple but important legislation would require our regulatory
agencies to provide a summary in no more than 100 words and in plain
language of proposed rules on Regulations.gov, thus providing the
American public with more transparency and easy understanding of new
rules and regulations.
The Administrative Procedure Act already requires that the public be
informed and have the chance to provide feedback to our agencies on the
rules that they are contemplating.
This bill, though, would bring a new level of transparency to our
agencies' hard work by giving the public a simple and easy-to-
understand summary of possible new rules that might affect them or
their business.
I also commend this bill's sponsors for requiring that the summary is
made available online. Transparency and accessibility must go hand in
hand.
This legislation has already passed the Senate. I urge my colleagues
to support it and send it to the President for his signature.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to
close.
Mr. Speaker, this is good legislation that will provide transparency
to the regulatory process. I urge all Members to support it, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I reiterate my strong support for S. 111,
the Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act.
The rules that agencies impose have real-world consequences.
Americans should be easily able to understand what a proposed rule
does. Instead, they are often left trying to interpret pages of
technical and bureaucratic jargon.
This bill is a simple measure that will make Americans' lives easier.
Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this bill, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 111, the
Providing Accountability through Transparency Act which the House will
be voting on today.
This commonsense bill has been a bicameral effort for several years
and I'm hopeful it will pass the House today so it can finally be sent
to the President's desk for signature and become law.
Since the creation of the Administrative Procedure Act in 1946,
federal agencies have been required to keep the public informed of
their respective rulemaking processes. All rules and regulations are
also published in the Federal Register, so there's a lot to keep up
with.
The federal government produces hundreds of rules, regulations, and
laws every year. And most of these government agencies unfortunately
have a habit of creating long-winded and convoluted rules that frankly
don't make sense unless you're an expert in that field.
American small businesses have enough to worry about--especially in
this economy. They don't have the time or resources to keep track of
the latest in government red tape or figure out if they need to abide
by agency suggestions that are often confused for laws. And that
regulatory burden shouldn't be on them.
In my capacity as Vice Chair of the House Small Business Committee,
I'm constantly hearing from small business owners who have run into
issues like this. And I'm sure many of my colleagues have also heard
from constituents who need help navigating the American regulatory
maze.
The Providing Transparency Through Accountability Act is a
straightforward, commonsense solution to this problem.
[[Page H3620]]
This bill would simply require agencies to create a short, plain
language summary and a website link to make it easily accessible so
that all Americans can easily find and understand the rules being
proposed by the administration.
Giving Americans--and especially small businesses--a one-hundred-
word, plain language summary for an otherwise convoluted government
rulemaking provides much needed streamlining and transparency.
I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will vote for this
bill to help the small business owners who create jobs and economic
growth nationwide focus on running their businesses, not sifting
through long-winded government documents.
I thank Senator Lankford for getting this bill across the finish line
in the Senate. I encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of the
Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 111, the
Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act.
S. 111 would require each agency, in providing notice of a
rulemaking, to include a link to a 100-word plain language summary of
the proposed rule, to be made available on the website regulations.gov.
Our job here is public service--not for our benefit, but the
enrichment of our communities, state, and Nation.
The bills we pass here directly affect the lives of everyday
Americans.
Therefore, the public must be able to access and provide their input
regarding rules.
For those who may not be experts in the subject matter of the rule,
S. 111 provides that a plain-language summary of 100 words or less be
made available by agencies at regulations.gov.
Having this clear and simplistic summary will give members of the
public the opportunity to provide specific and useful comments to those
of us who serve them.
Plain language makes it easier for the public to read, understand,
and use government communications.
As a result, Americans understand documents more quickly, call less
often for explanations, and make fewer errors filling out forms.
All in all, Americans comply more accurately and quickly with
requirements when written in plain language.
Ultimately, this helps improve government transparency and empower
greater participation in the democratic process.
Through plain language, Americans are broadly better able to
understand their options and the policies their government is pursuing.
Simply put, Americans are better able to participate in the debate
once they understand their choices.
In addition, the Congressional Budget Office expects that preparing
this short summary of proposed rules would not significantly increase
agencies' administrative costs.
Further, this remains true when the costs of implementation are
assessed over a five year period, with the Congressional Budget Office
estimating no significant costs accruing through implementation of this
policy from 2023 through 2028.
In fact, such a measure is likely to save federal government dollars
in the long run.
Because Americans understand more immediately, file documents with
greater accuracy, and have less need to seek explanations from
bureaucrats, plain language saves government employees time and allows
them to work more effectively and efficiently.
Multiple studies have shown that plain language improves bottom lines
by saving time, personnel resources, and money, all while providing
better service to Americans.
I urge my colleagues to support this common-sense measure that
improves transparency, accessibility of information, and the ability of
Americans to thoughtfully participate in the democratic process.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Van Drew) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, S. 111.
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. VAN DREW. 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, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________