Coronavirus Regulatory Repeal Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 969 To establish Federal Regulatory Review Commissions, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 25, 2021 Mr. PAUL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To establish Federal Regulatory Review Commissions, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coronavirus Regu- 4 latory Repeal Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. REPEAL OR MODIFICATION OF REGULATIONS DUR- 6 ING THE EMERGENCY PERIOD. 7 Any regulation waived or modified during the emer- 8 gency period shall be repealed or modified, as applicable, 9 the day after the expiration of the emergency period and 10 thereafter, unless a Federal Regulatory Review Commis- 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S969.IS S969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 969 IS sion recommends the regulation should not be repealed or 1 modified, as applicable, and a law is enacted confirming 2 the recommendation. 3 SEC. 3. FEDERAL REGULATORY REVIEW COMMISSIONS. 4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There are established Com- 5 missions to be known as the ‘‘Federal Regulatory Review 6 Commissions’’. 7 (b) MEMBERS.—Each Commission shall be composed 8 of members of the congressional committee of each juris- 9 diction and the head of each agency under the jurisdiction 10 of that committee (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘mem- 11 bers’’). 12 (c) INFORMATION.—Members may obtain informa- 13 tion from individuals with expertise in the operations and 14 regulations of government programs. 15 (d) DUTIES OF THE COMMISSIONS.— 16 (1) REVIEW OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS.—Not 17 later than 2 months after the date of the enactment 18 of this Act, each Commission shall submit to the 19 Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 20 majority leader of the Senate an official rec- 21 ommendation, on the repeal or modification of each 22 regulation waived or modified during the emergency 23 period. Each regulation waived or modified during 24 the emergency period shall remain waived or modi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S969.IS S969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 969 IS fied, as applicable, during the review period by the 1 Commission. 2 (2) EXTENSION.—The deadline in paragraph 3 (1) may be extended for an additional month if the 4 Congress enacts legislation extending such deadline 5 by a vote of a majority of the House of Representa- 6 tives and the Senate. 7 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 8 (1) AGENCY REPORT ON REGULATIONS.—Not 9 later than 1 month after the date of the enactment 10 of this Act, the head of each agency shall submit to 11 each congressional committee of jurisdiction a report 12 that includes— 13 (A) an analysis of whether or not the agen- 14 cy can function without the regulation or with 15 the modified regulation, as applicable; and 16 (B) an analysis of whether the regulation 17 should be restored to its original state before 18 the emergency period or should remain repealed 19 or modified, as applicable. 20 (2) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD REQUIRED.—The 21 head of an agency shall provide a public comment 22 period before submitting a report pursuant to para- 23 graph (1). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S969.IS S969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 969 IS (f) CONGRESSIONAL RECOMMENDATION.—Not later 1 than 1 month after receiving a report from the head of 2 each agency pursuant to subsection (e), each committee 3 shall submit to the Speaker of the House of Representa- 4 tives and the majority leader of the Senate an official rec- 5 ommendation on whether or not the repealed or modified 6 regulation should be re-established. 7 (g) SUNSET OF COMMISSIONS.—The Commissions 8 established in this section shall terminate on the final day 9 of the final recommendation by each committee. 10 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 11 In this Act: 12 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 13 meaning given that term in section 551 of title 5, 14 United States Code. 15 (2) EMERGENCY PERIOD.—The term ‘‘emer- 16 gency period’’ means the duration of a public health 17 emergency declared pursuant to section 319 of the 18 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) as a re- 19 sult of confirmed cases of 2019 novel coronavirus 20 (COVID–19), including any renewal thereof. 21 (3) REGULATION.—The term ‘‘regulation’’ has 22 the meaning given the term ‘‘rule’’ under section 23 551 of title 5, United States Code. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S969.IS S969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS