Lessening Regulatory Costs and Establishing a Federal Regulatory Budget Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 968 To provide for a method by which the economic costs of significant regulatory actions may be offset by the repeal of other regulatory actions, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 11, 2021 Mr. BUDD (for himself, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. PERRY, and Mr. HICE of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform A BILL To provide for a method by which the economic costs of significant regulatory actions may be offset by the repeal of other regulatory actions, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Lessening Regulatory Costs and Establishing a Federal 5 Regulatory Budget Act of 2021’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H968.IH H968 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 968 IH Sec. 2. Sense of Congress; purpose. Sec. 3. Establishing regulatory reform capacity. Sec. 4. Accountability. Sec. 5. Regulatory planning and budget. Sec. 6. Waiver. Sec. 7. Definitions. SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS; PURPOSE. 1 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 2 gress that the Federal Government should be prudent and 3 financially responsible in the expenditure of funds, from 4 both public and private sources. In addition to the man- 5 agement of the direct expenditure of taxpayer dollars 6 through the budgeting process, it is essential to manage 7 the costs associated with the governmental imposition of 8 private expenditures required to comply with Federal reg- 9 ulations. 10 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is— 11 (1) to remove unnecessary or outdated regula- 12 tions when a new significant regulation is issued; 13 and 14 (2) to prudently manage and control the cost of 15 planned regulations through an annual budgeting 16 process. 17 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHING REGULATORY REFORM CAPACITY. 18 (a) REGULATORY REFORM OFFICERS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided for 20 under section 6, not later than 60 days after the 21 date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H968.IH H968 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 968 IH agency shall designate an employee or officer of the 1 agency as the Regulatory Reform Officer (in this 2 Act referred to as the ‘‘agency RRO’’). 3 (2) DUTIES.—In accordance with applicable law 4 and in consultation with relevant senior agency offi- 5 cials, each agency RRO shall oversee— 6 (A) the implementation of regulatory re- 7 form initiatives and policies for the agency to 8 ensure that the agency effectively carries out 9 regulatory reforms; and 10 (B) the termination of programs and ac- 11 tivities that derive from or implement statutes, 12 Executive orders, guidance documents, policy 13 memoranda, rule interpretations, and similar 14 documents, or relevant portions thereof, that 15 have been repealed or rescinded. 16 (b) REGULATORY REFORM TASK FORCES.— 17 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF AGENCY TASK FORCE; 18 MEMBERSHIP.—Except as provided under section 6, 19 not later than 60 days after the date of the enact- 20 ment of this Act, the head of each agency shall ap- 21 point and may remove members to the regulatory re- 22 form task force (in this section referred to as the 23 ‘‘Task Force’’) of the agency, which shall be com- 24 posed of the following members: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H968.IH H968 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 968 IH (A) The agency RRO. 1 (B) A senior agency official from each rel- 2 evant component or office of the agency with 3 significant authority for issuing or repealing 4 regulatory actions. 5 (C) Additional senior agency officials in- 6 volved in the development of rulemaking or 7 other regulatory action at the agency, as deter- 8 mined by the head of the agency. 9 (2) CHAIR.—Unless otherwise designated by the 10 head of the agency, the agency RRO shall chair the 11 Task Force of the agency. 12 (3) JOINT TASK FORCES.—For the consider- 13 ation of a joint rulemaking, the Director may form 14 a joint regulatory reform task force composed of at 15 least one member from the Task Force of each rel- 16 evant agency. Any joint regulatory reform task force 17 formed under this paragraph shall consult with each 18 relevant Task Force. 19 (4) DUTIES.—Each Task Force shall conduct 20 ongoing evaluations of regulations and other regu- 21 latory actions and make recommendations that are 22 consistent with and that could be implemented in ac- 23 cordance with applicable law to the head of the 24 agency regarding repeal, replacement, or modifica- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H968.IH H968 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 968 IH tion of regulations and regulatory actions. To the ex- 1 tent practicable, each Task Force shall— 2 (A) not later than 5 years after the date 3 of the enactment of this Act, complete a review 4 of each regulation issued by the agency; 5 (B) for each regulation or regulatory ac- 6 tion reviewed and identified for repeal, replace- 7 ment, or modification, estimate the cost savings 8 of such repeal, replacement, or modification, as 9 applicable; and 10 (C) identify regulations that are appro- 11 priate for repeal, replacement, or modification, 12 and prioritize the evaluation of regulations 13 that— 14 (i) eliminate or have eliminated jobs 15 or inhibit or have inhibited job creation; 16 (ii) are outdated, unnecessary, or inef- 17 fective; 18 (iii) impose costs that exceed benefits; 19 (iv) create a serious inconsistency or 20 otherwise interfere with regulatory reform 21 initiatives and policies; 22 (v) were issued or are maintained in a 23 manner that is inconsistent with the re- 24 quirements of section 515 of the Treasury 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H968.IH H968 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 968 IH and General Government Appropriations 1 Act, 2001 (Public Law 106–554; 44 2 U.S.C. 3516 note), or the guidance issued 3 pursuant to that section, including any 4 rule that relies in whole or in part on data, 5 information, or methods that are not pub- 6 licly available or that are insufficiently 7 transparent to meet the standard for re- 8 producibility; or 9 (vi) were made pursuant to or to im- 10 plement statutes, Executive orders, or 11 other Presidential directives that have been 12 subsequently rescinded or substantially 13 modified. 14 (c) CONSULTATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.—In per- 15 forming the tasks under this section, each agency RRO 16 and Task Force shall seek input and other assistance from 17 the public and from entities significantly affected by regu- 18 lations, including State, local, and Tribal governments, 19 small businesses, consumers, non-governmental organiza- 20 tions, and trade associations. Each agency RRO and Task 21 Force may— 22 (1) incorporate specific suggestions from stake- 23 holders in identifying the list of deregulatory actions 24 to recommend to the head of the agency; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H968.IH H968 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 968 IH (2) accept or solicit input from the public in 1 any manner, if— 2 (A) the process is transparent to the public 3 and Congress; 4 (B) a list of each meeting, a list of each 5 stakeholder that submitted a comment, and a 6 copy of each written comment are made publicly 7 available online; and 8 (C) the Task Force issues a public notice 9 of any public meeting to solicit input not less 10 than 7 days before the public meeting and 11 makes detailed minutes of the meeting available 12 online not less than 7 days after the date of the 13 meeting. 14 (d) TRANSPARENT REGULATORY REFORM.— 15 (1) WEBSITE.—To the extent practicable, the 16 head of each agency shall publish information about 17 the Task Force of the agency and other regulatory 18 reform initiatives on the website of the agency— 19 (A) which shall include— 20 (i) a list of the members of the Task 21 Force of the agency; 22 (ii) a copy of each report issued under 23 this subsection; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H968.IH H968 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 968 IH (iii) a link to or copy of each notice of 1 a meeting or solicitation of public com- 2 ments issued by the Task Force of the 3 agency; and 4 (B) which may include— 5 (i) an online forum to receive com- 6 ments from the public; and 7 (ii) any other information about the 8 Task Force or other regulatory reform ini- 9 tiatives at the agency. 10 (2) REPORT.—Not less than twice a year, each 11 agency RRO shall submit to the head of the agency 12 a report on the activities performed under this sec- 13 tion and any recommendations resulting from such 14 activities (which shall be posted by the head of the 15 agency on a publicly accessible website), and shall 16 include the following: 17 (A) A description of any improvement 18 made toward implementation of regulatory re- 19 form initiatives and policies. 20 (B) For each regulation or other regu- 21 latory action reviewed by the Task Force, a de- 22 tailed description of the review. 23 (C) An inventory of each regulation or reg- 24 ulatory action the Task Force recommends the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H968.IH H968 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 968 IH agency consider for repeal, replacement, or 1 modification. 2 (D) A list of all activities conducted under 3 subsection (c), a summary of all comments re- 4 ceived, and a hyperlink to copies of each public 5 comment received. 6 SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY. 7 (a) INCORPORATION IN PERFORMANCE PLANS.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each agency listed in section 9 901(b)(1) of title 31, United States Code, shall in- 10 corporate in the annual performance plan of the 11 agency (required under section 1115(b) of title 31, 12 United States Code) performance indicators that 13 measure progress implementing this Act. 14 (2) OMB GUIDANCE.—The Director shall issue, 15 and update as necessary, guidance regarding the im- 16 plementation of this subsection. 17 (b) PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT.—The head of each 18 agency shall consider the progress implementing this Act 19 in assessing the performance of the Task Force of the 20 agency and those individuals responsible for developing 21 and issuing agency rules. 22 SEC. 5. REGULATORY PLANNING AND BUDGET. 23 (a) UNIFIED AGENDA AND ANNUAL REGULATORY 24 PLAN.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H968.IH H968 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 968 IH (1) UNIFIED REGULATORY AGENDA.—During 1 the months of April and October of each year, the 2 Director shall publish a unified regulatory agenda, 3 which shall include— 4 (A) regulatory and deregulatory actions 5 under development or review at agencies; 6 (B) a Federal regulatory plan of all signifi- 7 cant regulatory actions and associated deregula- 8 tory actions that agencies reasonably expect to 9 issue in proposed or final form in the current 10 and following fiscal year; and 11 (C) all information required to be included 12 in the regulatory flexibility agenda under sec- 13 tion 602 of title 5, United States Code. 14 (2) AGENCY SUBMISSIONS.—In accordance with 15 guidance issued by the Director and not less than 60 16 days before each date of publication for the unified 17 regulatory agenda under paragraph (1), the head of 18 each agency shall submit to the Director an agenda 19 of all regulatory actions and deregulatory actions 20 under development at the agency, including the fol- 21 lowing: 22 (A) For each regulatory action and deregu- 23 latory action: 24 (i) A regulation identifier number. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H968.IH H968 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 968 IH (ii) A brief summary of the action. 1 (iii) The legal authority for the action. 2 (iv) Any legal deadline for the action. 3 (v) The name and contact information 4 for a knowledgeable agency official. 5 (vi) Any other information as required 6 by the Director. 7 (B) An annual regulatory plan, which shall 8 include a list of each significant regulatory ac- 9 tion the agency reasonably expects to issue in 10 proposed or final form in the current and fol- 11 lowing fiscal year, including for each significant 12 regulatory action: 13 (i) A summary, including the fol- 14 lowing: 15 (I) A statement of the regulatory 16 objectives. 17 (II) The legal authority for the 18 action. 19 (III) A statement of the need for 20 the action. 21 (IV) The agency’s schedule for 22 the action. 23 (ii) The estimated cost. 24 (iii) The estimated benefits. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H968.IH H968 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 968 IH (iv) Any deregulatory action identified 1 to offset the estimated cost of such signifi- 2 cant regulatory action and an explanation 3 of how the agency will continue to achieve 4 regulatory objectives if the deregulatory ac- 5 tion is taken. 6 (v) A best approximation of the total 7 cost or savings and any cost or savings as- 8 sociated with a deregulatory action. 9 (vi) An estimate of the economic ef- 10 fects, including any estimate of the net ef- 11 fect that such action will have on the num- 12 ber of jobs in the United States, that was 13 considered in drafting the action, or, if 14 such estimate is not available, a statement 15 affirming that no information on the eco- 16 nomic effects, including the effect on the 17 number of jobs, of the action has been con- 18 sidered. 19 (C) Information required under section 20 602 of title 5, United States Code. 21 (D) Information required under any other 22 law to be reported by agencies about significant 23 regulatory actions, as determined by the Direc- 24 tor. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Mar 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H968.IH H968 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 968 IH (b [Text truncated for display. 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