[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.

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