RED Tape Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 441 To require each agency to repeal or amend 2 or more rules before issuing or amending a rule. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 12, 2019 Mr. SULLIVAN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To require each agency to repeal or amend 2 or more rules before issuing or amending a rule. 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 ‘‘Regulations Endanger 4 Democracy Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘RED Tape Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. REPEAL OF RULES REQUIRED BEFORE ISSUING OR 6 AMENDING RULE. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S441.IS S441 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 441 IS (1) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 1 the term in section 551 of title 5, United States 2 Code; 3 (2) the term ‘‘covered rule’’ means a rule of an 4 agency that causes a new financial or administrative 5 burden on businesses in the United States or on the 6 people of the United States, as determined by the 7 head of the agency; 8 (3) the term ‘‘rule’’— 9 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec- 10 tion 551 of title 5, United States Code; and 11 (B) includes— 12 (i) any rule issued by an agency pur- 13 suant to an Executive order or Presidential 14 memorandum; and 15 (ii) any rule issued by an agency due 16 to the issuance of a memorandum, guid- 17 ance document, bulletin, or press release 18 issued by an agency; and 19 (4) the term ‘‘Unified Agenda’’ means the Uni- 20 fied Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory 21 Actions. 22 (b) PROHIBITION ON ISSUANCE OF CERTAIN 23 RULES.— 24 (1) IN GENERAL.—An agency may not— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S441.IS S441 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 441 IS (A) issue a covered rule that does not 1 amend or modify an existing rule of the agency, 2 unless— 3 (i) the agency has repealed 2 or more 4 existing covered rules of the agency; and 5 (ii) the cost of the covered rule to be 6 issued is less than or equal to the cost of 7 the covered rules repealed under clause (i), 8 as determined and certified by the head of 9 the agency; or 10 (B) issue a covered rule that amends or 11 modifies an existing rule of the agency, un- 12 less— 13 (i) the agency has repealed or amend- 14 ed 2 or more existing covered rules of the 15 agency; and 16 (ii) the cost of the covered rule to be 17 issued is less than or equal to the cost of 18 the covered rules repealed or amended 19 under clause (i), as determined and cer- 20 tified by the head of the agency. 21 (2) APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 22 apply to the issuance of a covered rule by an agency 23 that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S441.IS S441 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 441 IS (A) relates to the internal policy or prac- 1 tice of the agency or procurement by the agen- 2 cy; or 3 (B) is being revised to be less burdensome 4 to decrease requirements imposed by the cov- 5 ered rule or the cost of compliance with the cov- 6 ered rule. 7 (c) CONSIDERATIONS FOR REPEALING RULES.—In 8 determining whether to repeal a covered rule under sub- 9 paragraph (A)(i) or (B)(i) of subsection (b)(1), the head 10 of the agency that issued the covered rule shall consider— 11 (1) whether the covered rule achieved, or has 12 been ineffective in achieving, the original purpose of 13 the covered rule; 14 (2) any adverse effects that could materialize if 15 the covered rule is repealed, in particular if those 16 adverse effects are the reason the covered rule was 17 originally issued; 18 (3) whether the costs of the covered rule out- 19 weigh any benefits of the covered rule to the United 20 States; 21 (4) whether the covered rule has become obso- 22 lete due to changes in technology, economic condi- 23 tions, market practices, or any other factors; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S441.IS S441 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 441 IS (5) whether the covered rule overlaps with a 1 covered rule to be issued by the agency. 2 (d) PUBLICATION OF COVERED RULES IN UNIFIED 3 AGENDA.— 4 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—Each agency shall, on a 5 semiannual basis, submit jointly and without delay 6 to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 7 for publication in the Unified Agenda a list con- 8 taining— 9 (A) each covered rule that the agency in- 10 tends to issue during the 6-month period fol- 11 lowing the date of submission; 12 (B) each covered rule that the agency in- 13 tends to repeal or amend in accordance with 14 subsection (b) during the 6-month period fol- 15 lowing the date of submission; and 16 (C) the cost of each covered rule described 17 in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 18 (2) PROHIBITION.—An agency may not issue a 19 covered rule unless the agency complies with the re- 20 quirements under paragraph (1). 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S441.IS S441 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS