REG Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2378 To require reductions in the direct cost of Federal regulations that are proportional to the amount of increases in the debt ceiling. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 31, 2019 Mr. GARDNER (for himself and Mr. LEE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To require reductions in the direct cost of Federal regula- tions that are proportional to the amount of increases in the debt ceiling. 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 ‘‘Reducing Excessive 4 Government Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘REG Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. REDUCING EXCESSIVE GOVERNMENT. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2378.IS S2378 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2378 IS (1) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 1 the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ under section 105 of 2 title 5, United States Code; 3 (2) the term ‘‘amount of the increase in the 4 debt limit’’ means— 5 (A) the dollar amount of the increase in 6 the debt limit specified in the Act increasing 7 the debt limit; or 8 (B) in the case of an Act that provides 9 that the debt limit shall not apply for a period 10 and that the amount of the debt limit is in- 11 creased at the end of such period, the amount 12 by which the Secretary of the Treasury esti- 13 mates the debt limit shall be increased at the 14 end of the period of the suspension, which the 15 Secretary shall submit to Congress on the date 16 of enactment of such an Act; 17 (3) the term ‘‘debt limit’’ means the limitation 18 imposed by section 3101(b) of title 31, United 19 States Code; 20 (4) the term ‘‘direct cost of Federal regulation’’ 21 means all costs incurred by, and expenditures re- 22 quired of, the Federal Government in issuing and 23 enforcing Federal regulations, rules, statements, and 24 legislation; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2378.IS S2378 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2378 IS (5) the term ‘‘joint resolution’’ means a joint 1 resolution— 2 (A) reported by the Committee on the 3 Budget of the Senate or the House of Rep- 4 resentatives in accordance with subsection 5 (d)(3); 6 (B) which does not have a preamble; 7 (C) the title of which is as follows: ‘‘Joint 8 resolution relating to repeal of costly rules’’; 9 and 10 (D) the matter after the resolving clause of 11 which is as follows: ‘‘That the following rules 12 shall have no force or effect: 13 lllllll.’’, the blank space being filled 14 in with the list of major rules recommended to 15 be repealed under subsection (d) by the commit- 16 tees of the House in which the joint resolution 17 is reported; and 18 (6) the term ‘‘major rule’’ means any rule that 19 has resulted in or is likely to result in— 20 (A) an annual effect on the economy of 21 $100,000,000 or more; 22 (B) a major increase in costs or prices for 23 consumers, individual industries, Federal, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2378.IS S2378 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2378 IS State, or local government agencies, or geo- 1 graphic regions; or 2 (C) significant adverse effects on competi- 3 tion, employment, investment, productivity, in- 4 novation, or on the ability of United States- 5 based enterprises to compete with foreign-based 6 enterprises in domestic and export markets. 7 (b) REDUCTIONS IN REGULATORY COST.—Not later 8 than 60 days after the date on which the debt limit is 9 increased or a suspension of the debt limit takes effect, 10 Congress shall consider, in accordance with the rules 11 under subsection (e), legislation eliminating rules that re- 12 sults in a reduction of the direct cost of Federal regulation 13 during the 10-fiscal-year period beginning with the next 14 full fiscal year by not less than 15 percent of the amount 15 of the increase in the debt limit. 16 (c) ACTION BY AGENCIES.— 17 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF MAJOR RULES.—If the 18 amount of the debt limit is increased or a suspension 19 of the debt limit takes effect, each agency shall sub- 20 mit to the Senate, the House of Representatives, 21 and the Comptroller General of the United States a 22 report identifying each major rule of the agency, as 23 determined by the head of the agency. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2378.IS S2378 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2378 IS (2) CERTIFICATION BY GAO.—After receipt of 1 all reports required under paragraph (1), the Comp- 2 troller General of the United States shall submit to 3 the Senate and the House of Representatives a re- 4 port evaluating whether agencies appropriately iden- 5 tified major rules under paragraph (1), including 6 whether the agencies identified major rules in ac- 7 cordance with Office of Management and Budget 8 Circular A–4, or any successor thereto. 9 (d) ACTION BY COMMITTEES.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each committee of the Sen- 11 ate and the House of Representatives shall submit 12 to the Committee on the Budget of its House a list 13 of the major rules that— 14 (A) are within the jurisdiction of the com- 15 mittee, which may include major rules identified 16 in the report of an agency under subsection 17 (c)(1); and 18 (B) the committee recommends should be 19 repealed. 20 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining whether 21 to recommend repealing major rules within its juris- 22 diction, a committee of the Senate or the House of 23 Representatives shall consider— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2378.IS S2378 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2378 IS (A) whether the major rule achieved, or 1 has been ineffective in achieving, the original 2 purpose of the major rule; 3 (B) any adverse effects that could mate- 4 rialize if the major rule is repealed, in par- 5 ticular if those adverse effects are the reason 6 the major rule was originally enacted; 7 (C) whether the costs of the major rule 8 outweigh any benefits of the major rule to the 9 United States; 10 (D) whether the major rule has become ob- 11 solete due to changes in technology, economic 12 conditions, market practices, or any other fac- 13 tors; and 14 (E) whether the major rule overlaps with 15 another rule. 16 (3) COMBINING OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 17 Committee on the Budget of the Senate and the 18 Committee on the Budget of the House of Rep- 19 resentatives, upon receiving recommendations from 20 all relevant committees under paragraph (1), shall 21 report to its House a joint resolution carrying out all 22 such recommendations without any substantive revi- 23 sion. 24 (e) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2378.IS S2378 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2378 IS (1) CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REPRESENT- 1 ATIVES.— 2 (A) PLACEMENT ON CALENDAR.—Upon a 3 joint resolution being reported by the Com- 4 mittee on the Budget of the House of Rep- 5 resentatives, or upon receipt of a joint resolu- 6 tion from the Senate, the joint resolution shall 7 be placed immediately on the calendar. 8 (B) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 9 (i) IN GENERAL.—It shall be in order, 10 not later than 60 days after the date on 11 which the debt limit is increased or a sus- 12 pension of the debt limit takes effect, to 13 move to proceed to consider a joint resolu- 14 tion in the House of Representatives. 15 (ii) PROCEDURE.—For a motion to 16 proceed to consider a joint resolution— 17 (I) all points of order against the 18 motion are waived; 19 (II) such a motion shall not be in 20 order after the House of Representa- 21 tives has disposed of a motion to pro- 22 ceed to the joint resolution; 23 (III) the previous question shall 24 be considered as ordered on the mo- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2378.IS S2378 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2378 IS tion to its adoption without inter- 1 vening motion; 2 (IV) the motion shall not be de- 3 batable; and 4 (V) a motion to reconsider the 5 vote by which the motion is disposed 6 of shall not be in order. 7 (C) CONSIDERATION.—The House of Rep- 8 resentatives shall establish rules for consider- 9 ation of a joint resolution in the House of Rep- 10 resentatives. 11 (2) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.— 12 In the Senate: 13 (A) PLACEMENT ON CALENDAR.—Upon a 14 joint resolution being reported by the Com- 15 mittee on the Budget of the Senate, or upon re- 16 ceipt of a joint resolution from the House of 17 Representatives, the joint resolution shall be 18 placed immediately on the calendar. 19 (B) MOTION TO PROCEED.— 20 (i) TIMING.—A motion to proceed to a 21 joint resolution is in order at any time 22 after the resolution is placed on the cal- 23 endar. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2378.IS S2378 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2378 IS (ii) MOTION BY ANY SENATOR.—Any 1 Senator may move to proceed to a joint 2 resolution. 3 (iii) PRIVILEGE.—A motion to proceed 4 to the consideration of the joint resolution 5 is privileged, except that this clause shall 6 apply only to a motion to proceed to a 7 joint resolution reported by the Committee 8 on the Budget under subsection (d) or to 9 the first joint resolution placed on the cal- 10 endar after passage in the House of Rep- 11 resentatives. 12 (iv) DEBATE.—Debate on a motion to 13 proceed to a joint resolution is limited to 14 not more than 5 hours, equally divided be- 15 tween Senators favoring and Senators op- 16 posing the resolution. 17 (v) MOTION NOT AMENDABLE.—The 18 motion to proceed to the joint resolution is 19 not amendable. A motion to reconsider is 20 not in order. A motion to table is not in 21 order. 22 (vi) OTHER MOTIONS NOT IN 23 ORDER.—After a motion to proceed to a 24 joint resolution is agreed to, motions to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2378.IS S2378 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2378 IS postpone or to consider other business are 1 not in order. 2 (C) MOTIONS AND APPEALS.—All motions 3 and appeals relating to a joint resolution shall 4 be decided by the Senate without debate. 5 (D) FLOOR CONSIDERATION GEN- 6 ERALLY.—If the Senate proceeds to consider- 7 ation of a joint resolution— 8 (i) all points of order against the joint 9 resolution (and against consideration of 10 the joint resolution) are waived; 11 (ii) consideration of the joint resolu- 12 tion, and all amendments thereto and de- 13 batable motions and appeals in connection 14 therewith, shall be limited to not more 15 than 10 hours, which shall be divided 16 equally between the majority and minority 17 leaders or their designees; 18 (iii) a motion to postpone or a motion 19 to commit the joint resolution is not in 20 order; and 21 (iv) a motion to proceed to the consid- 22 eration of other business is not in order. 23 (E) REQUIREMENTS FOR AMENDMENTS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2378.IS S2378 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2378 IS (i) IN GENERAL.—No amendment 1 that is not germane to the provisions of a 2 joint resolution shall be considered. 3 (ii) REPEAL OF MAJOR RULES.—Not- 4 withstanding clause (i) or any other rule, 5 an amendment or series of amendments to 6 a joint resolution shall always be in order 7 if such amendment or series of amend- 8 ments proposes to repeal a major rule that 9 would result in a decrease in the direct 10 cost of Federal regulation during the 10- 11 fiscal-year period beginning with the next 12 full fiscal year. 13 (F) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—The vote on pas- 14 sage shall occur immediately following the con- 15 clusion of the consideration of a joint resolu- 16 tion, and a single quorum call at the conclusion 17 of the debate if requested in accordance with 18 the rules of the Senate. 19 (G) RULINGS OF THE CHAIR ON PROCE- 20 DURE.—Appeals from the decisions of the Chair 21 relating to the application of this subsection or 22 the rules of the Senate, as the case may be, to 23 the procedure relating to a joint resolution shall 24 be decided without debate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2378.IS S2378 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2378 IS (3) CONSIDERATION AFTER PASSAGE.— 1 (A) IN GENERAL.—If Congress passes a 2 joint resolution, the period beginning on the 3 date the President is presented with the joint 4 resolution and ending on the date the President 5 takes action with respect to the joint resolution 6 shall be disregarded in computing the period 7 described in subsection (g). 8 (B) VETOES.—If the President vetoes the 9 joint resolution— 10 (i) the period beginning on the date 11 the President vetoes the joint resolution 12 and ending on the date Congress receives 13 the veto message with respect to the joint 14 resolution shall be disregarded in com- 15 puting the period described in subsection 16 (g); and 17 (ii) consideration of a veto message in 18 the Senate under this section shall be not 19 more than 2 hours equally divided between 20 the majority and minority leaders or their 21 designees. 22 (4) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 23 AND SENATE.—This subsection is enacted by Con- 24 gress— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2378.IS S2378 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2378 IS (A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power 1 of the Senate and House of Representatives, re- 2 spectively, and as such is deemed a part of the 3 rules of each House, respectively, but applicable 4 only with respect to the procedure to be fol- 5 lowed in that House in the case of a joint reso- 6 lution, and supersede other rules only to the ex- 7 tent that they are inconsistent with such rules; 8 and 9 (B) with full recognition of the constitu- 10 tional right of either House to change the rules 11 (so far as relating to the procedure of that 12 House) at any time, in the same manner, and 13 to the same extent as in the case of any other 14 rule of that House. 15 (f) EFFECT OF JOINT RESOLUTION.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—A major rule shall cease to 17 have force or effect if Congress enac [Text truncated for display. 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