[Senate Report 117-25]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 79
117th Congress      }                                    {      Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session        }                                    {      117-25
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



       PROVIDING ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2021


                               __________



                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                 S. 522

            TO REQUIRE EACH AGENCY, IN PROVIDING NOTICE OF A
              RULE MAKING, TO INCLUDE A LINK TO A 100-WORD
              PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSED RULE










[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]










                 June 21, 2021.--Ordered to be printed 
                 
                             _________
                              
                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                 
19-010                   WASHINGTON : 2021
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                   GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California             MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                    Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
   Lena C. Chang, Director of Governmental Affairs and Senior Counsel
              Yelena L. Tsilker, Professional Staff Member
                Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
  Andrew C. Dockham, Minority Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director
Amanda H. Neely, Minority Director of Governmental Affairs and General 
                                Counsel
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk




























                                                       Calendar No. 79
117th Congress      }                                    {      Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session        }                                    {      117-25

======================================================================



 
       PROVIDING ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2021

                                _______
                                

                 June 21, 2021.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 522]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 522) to require 
each agency, in providing notice of a rule making, to include a 
link to a 100-word plain language summary of the proposed rule, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................2
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................2
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................3
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............4

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    The Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act of 
2021 requires Federal agencies to include, as part of a notice 
of proposed rule making (NPRM), a link to a 100-word-or-less 
plain-language summary of the proposed rule. The summary itself 
will be made available on the website regulations.gov.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\On February 13, 2019, the Committee approved S. 395, Providing 
Accountability Through Transparency Act of 2019, which is substantially 
similar to S. 522. Accordingly, this Committee report is in large part 
a reproduction of the Committee report for S. 395, S. Rep. No. 116-14.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

              II. Background and the Need for Legislation

    The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) forms the procedural 
basis by which Federal agencies issue most regulations and 
other policies.\2\ The APA, which has been called the result of 
a ``fierce compromise,'' is intended to enable agencies to 
engage in policymaking while promoting the interests of those 
nongovernmental parties affected.\3\ Specifically, the 
procedure outlined in Section 553 of the APA for so-called 
``informal'' rule making ``establishes the minimum procedural 
requirements'' that agencies must observe for most 
regulations.\4\ Because regulations issued through such a 
process are generally considered legally binding, the APA 
formalizes a notice to the public of a forthcoming rule, and at 
that point, establishes an early opportunity for the general 
public to submit comments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\Pub. Law 79-404, 60 Stat. 237.
    \3\George B. Shepherd, Fierce Compromise: The Administrative 
Procedure Act Emerges from New Deal Politics, Northwestern University 
Law Review, Vol. 90, No. 4 (1996).
    \4\Emily S. Bremer, A Primer on the Informal Rulemaking Process, 
Administrative Fix (blog), Administrative Conference of the United 
States (May 10, 2013) (https://www.acus.gov/newsroom/administrative-
fix-blog/primer-informal-rulemaking-process); 5 U.S.C. Sec. 553.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    However, the public's ability to offer useful feedback 
through comments is dependent upon the clarity and simplicity 
of the proposal, especially for parties who may not be experts 
in the particular subject of the rule. Therefore, this bill 
offers a uniform and universally accessible standard for 
agencies to better communicate their intended policies to the 
public: a plain-language summary of 100 words or less made 
available by agencies at regulations.gov.

                        III. Legislative History

    Senator James Lankford (R-OK) introduced S. 522 on March 2, 
2021, with Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), James E. Risch (R-
ID), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) as cosponsors. The bill was 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs. Senator Gary C. Peters (D-MI) joined as a cosponsor on 
March 9, 2021.
    The Committee considered S. 522 at a business meeting on 
March 17, 2021. The Committee ordered S. 522 reported favorably 
by voice vote en bloc. Senators Peters, Rosen, Padilla, 
Portman, Johnson, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley were 
present for the vote.

        IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported


Section 1. Short title

    This section provides the bill's short title, the 
``Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act of 2021.''

Section 2. Requirement to post a 100-word summary to regulations.gov

    This section amends the list of information required for 
inclusion when agencies issue a notice of proposed rule making 
to add that they also include a link to a 100-word-or-less 
plain-language summary of the proposed rule. The summary shall 
be posted to regulations.gov.

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, March 29, 2021.
Hon. Gary C. Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 522, the Providing 
Accountability Through Transparency Act of 2021.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

    
    

    S. 522 would require agencies to post an Internet address 
link for any proposed rule published in the Federal Register 
that would take the reader to a concise summary of not more 
than 100 words posted on regulations.gov. The Presidential 
Memorandum on Plain Language issued on June 1, 1998, and 
Executive Order 13563 already require agencies to use plain 
language in all proposed and final rules. CBO expects that 
preparing the short summary of proposed rules under S. 522 
would not significantly increase agencies' administrative 
costs. Thus, CBO estimates that implementing S. 522 would have 
no significant cost over the 2021-2026 period.
    Enacting the bill could affect direct spending by some 
agencies that are allowed to use fees, receipts from the sale 
of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs. CBO 
estimates that any net changes in direct spending by those 
agencies would be negligible because most of them can adjust 
amounts collected to reflect changes in operating costs.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

       VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
S. 522 as reported are shown as follows (existing law proposed 
to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is printed in 
italic, and existing law in which no change is proposed is 
shown in roman):

UNITED STATES CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


TITLE 5--GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


PART I--THE AGENCIES GENERALLY

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



CHAPTER 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Subchapter II--Administrative Procedure

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



SEC. 553. RULE MAKING

    (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (b) * * *
          (1) * * *
          (2) reference to the legal authority under which the 
        rule is proposed; [and]
          (3) either the terms or substance of the proposed 
        rule or a description of the subjects and issues 
        involved[.]; and
          (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).

                                  [all]