Unnecessary Agency Regulations Reduction Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4196 To modify, consolidate, or repeal unnecessary agency major rules, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 2, 2020 Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. HAWLEY, Mr. ENZI, Mr. PERDUE, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. COTTON, and Mr. DAINES) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs A BILL To modify, consolidate, or repeal unnecessary agency major rules, 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 ‘‘Unnecessary Agency 4 Regulations Reduction Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4196.IS S4196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4196 IS (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad- 1 ministrator of the Office of Information and Regu- 2 latory Affairs; 3 (2) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 4 the term in section 551 of title 5, United States 5 Code; 6 (3) the term ‘‘burdensome’’, with respect to a 7 major rule or set of major rules of an agency, means 8 that the major rule or set of major rules— 9 (A) can be modified, consolidated, or re- 10 pealed to eliminate or reduce excessive compli- 11 ance costs or user fees; or 12 (B) imposes unfunded mandates due to the 13 agency failing to adequately comply with section 14 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 15 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1535); 16 (4) the term ‘‘duplicative’’, with respect to a 17 major rule or set of major rules of an agency, means 18 that the major rule or set of major rules overlaps, 19 duplicates, or conflicts with other Federal regula- 20 tions; 21 (5) the term ‘‘joint resolution’’ means only a 22 joint resolution that contains legislative language to 23 modify, consolidate, or repeal agency major rules; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4196.IS S4196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4196 IS (6) the term ‘‘major rule’’ has the meaning 1 given the term in section 804 of title 5, United 2 States Code; 3 (7) the term ‘‘outdated’’, with respect to a 4 major rule or set of major rules of an agency or a 5 portion of a major rule of an agency means that the 6 major rule, set of major rules, or the portion of the 7 major rule has not been modified in the 10-year pe- 8 riod preceding the date on which the Administrator 9 submits the most recent list required under section 10 3(a)(3)(A)(ii); 11 (8) the term ‘‘regulation’’ has the meaning 12 given the term ‘‘rule’’ in section 551 of title 5, 13 United States Code; and 14 (9) the term ‘‘set of major rules’’ means not 15 less than 2 major rules that collectively implement 16 a regulatory authority of an agency. 17 SEC. 3. REVIEW AND IDENTIFICATION OF UNNECESSARY 18 REGULATIONS. 19 (a) REVIEW.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, on 21 an annual basis and in consultation with each agen- 22 cy— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4196.IS S4196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4196 IS (A) compile a list that identifies all 1 planned agency major rules or sets of major 2 rules for the period covered by the submission; 3 (B) identify agency major rules or sets of 4 major rules described in subparagraph (A) that 5 are duplicative or burdensome; and 6 (C) consult with the congressional commit- 7 tees with jurisdiction over the major rules or 8 sets of major rules identified under subpara- 9 graph (B) to determine whether those major 10 rules or sets of major rules would no longer be 11 useful and could be modified, consolidated, or 12 repealed. 13 (2) CONSIDERATION OF GAO DUPLICATION RE- 14 PORT.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller Gen- 16 eral of the United States shall— 17 (i) on an annual basis, provide to the 18 Administrator a copy of the annual report 19 prepared pursuant to section 21 of the 20 Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (31 21 U.S.C. 712 note); and 22 (ii) in the report provided under 23 clause (i), identify any major rules or sets 24 of major rules associated with the pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4196.IS S4196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4196 IS grams, agencies, offices, and initiatives 1 identified in the report as having duplica- 2 tive goals or activities, as defined by the 3 Comptroller General. 4 (B) REVIEW.—Upon receipt of the report 5 under subparagraph (A), the Administrator 6 shall— 7 (i) review any major rules or sets of 8 major rules associated with the programs, 9 agencies, offices, and initiatives identified 10 in the report as having duplicative goals or 11 activities; 12 (ii) determine, in consultation with 13 the relevant agencies, whether any of the 14 major rules or sets of major rules identi- 15 fied in clause (i) are duplicative or out- 16 dated; and 17 (iii) determine how any duplicative or 18 outdated major rules or sets of major rules 19 identified in clause (ii) should be modified, 20 consolidated, or repealed. 21 (3) IDENTIFICATION OF MAJOR RULES OR SETS 22 OF MAJOR RULES.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 24 shall, on an annual basis— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4196.IS S4196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4196 IS (i) compile a list of major rules or sets 1 of major rules that the Administrator de- 2 termines are outdated, duplicative, or bur- 3 densome; and 4 (ii) submit to Congress and include in 5 each Unified Agenda of Federal Regu- 6 latory and Deregulatory Actions a list of 7 major rules or sets of major rules that the 8 Administrator recommends should be 9 modified, consolidated, or repealed. 10 (B) REQUIRED PERCENTAGE.—The list of 11 major rules or sets of major rules identified as 12 outdated, duplicative, or burdensome under sub- 13 paragraph (A)(i) shall be not less than 10 per- 14 cent of all major rules and sets of major rules 15 identified under paragraphs (1)(B) and 16 (2)(B)(ii). 17 (b) CRITERIA FOR REVIEW.—In identifying major 18 rules or sets of major rules that are outdated, duplicative, 19 or burdensome under subsection (a), the Administrator 20 may consider— 21 (1) whether the original purpose of the major 22 rule or set of major rules was achieved, and the 23 major rule or set of major rules could be repealed 24 without significant recurrence of adverse effects or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4196.IS S4196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4196 IS conduct that the major rule or set of major rules 1 was intended to prevent or reduce; 2 (2) whether the implementation, compliance, 3 administration, enforcement, imposition of unfunded 4 mandates, or other costs of the major rule or set of 5 major rules to the economy are not justified by the 6 benefits to society within the United States produced 7 by the expenditure of those costs; 8 (3) whether the major rule or set of major rules 9 has been rendered unnecessary or obsolete, taking 10 into consideration the length of time since the major 11 rule or set of major rules was made and the degree 12 to which technology, economic conditions, market 13 practices, or other relevant factors have changed in 14 the subject area affected by the major rule or set of 15 major rules; 16 (4) whether the major rule or set of major rules 17 has become unjustified or unnecessary as a result of 18 changed circumstances; 19 (5) whether the major rule or set of major rules 20 is compatible with other regulations and not duplica- 21 tive or inappropriately burdensome in the aggregate; 22 (6) whether the major rule or set of major rules 23 is ineffective at achieving the purposes of the major 24 rule or set of major rules; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4196.IS S4196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4196 IS (7) whether the major rule or set of major rules 1 is duplicative of other Federal regulations; 2 (8) whether the major rule or set of major rules 3 has excessive compliance costs, user fees, imposes 4 unfunded mandates, or is otherwise excessively bur- 5 densome, as compared to alternatives that— 6 (A) specify performance objectives rather 7 than conduct or manners of compliance; 8 (B) establish economic incentives to en- 9 courage desired behavior; 10 (C) provide information upon which 11 choices can be made by the public; 12 (D) incorporate other innovative alter- 13 natives rather than agency actions that specify 14 conduct or manners of compliance; or 15 (E) could in other ways substantially lower 16 costs without significantly undermining effec- 17 tiveness; 18 (9) whether the major rule or set of major rules 19 inhibits innovation in or growth of the United States 20 economy, such as by impeding the introduction or 21 use of safer or equally safe technology that is newer 22 or more efficient than technology required by or per- 23 missible under the major rule or set of major rules; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4196.IS S4196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4196 IS (10) whether or not the major rule or set of 1 major rules harms competition within the United 2 States economy or the international economic com- 3 petitiveness of enterprises or entities based in the 4 United States; 5 (11) whether or not the major rule or set of 6 major rules limits or prevents an agency from apply- 7 ing new or emerging technologies to improve effi- 8 ciency and effectiveness of government; 9 (12) whether the major rule or set of major 10 rules harms wage growth, including wage growth for 11 minimum wage and part-time workers; 12 (13) whether the major rule or set of major 13 rules is outdated; 14 (14) whether the major rule or set of major 15 rules is in full compliance with the requirements of 16 section 801(a)(1)(A) of title 5, United States Code; 17 (15) whether, and the extent to which, the re- 18 peal of the major rule or set of major rules would 19 impact public health; 20 (16) the review of the report submitted by the 21 Comptroller General of the United States under sub- 22 section (a)(2); and 23 (17) such other criteria as the Administrator 24 determines to identify major rules or sets of major 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4196.IS S4196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4196 IS rules that can be repealed to eliminate or reduce un- 1 necessarily burdensome costs to the United States 2 economy. 3 (c) CONSIDERATION BY CONGRESS.—Not later than 4 30 days after the date on which the Administrator submits 5 the list of major rules or sets of major rules to Congress 6 under subsection (a)(3)(A)(ii), each appropriate congres- 7 sional committee shall— 8 (1) review each such major rule or set of major 9 rules that is within the jurisdiction of the committee 10 to determine if the major rule or set of major rules 11 should be modified, consolidated, or repealed; and 12 (2) issue a recommendation to modify, consoli- 13 date, or repeal the major rule or set of major rules 14 in a joint resolution. 15 SEC. 4. EXPEDITED PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF 16 JOINT RESOLUTION. 17 (a) INTRODUCTION OF JOINT RESOLUTION.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any joint resolution— 19 (A) shall be introduced in the Senate (by 20 request) by the majority leader or minority 21 leader of the Senate or by a Member of the 22 Senate designated by the majority leader or mi- 23 nority leader of the Senate not later than 60 24 days after the date on which the date on which 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4196.IS S4196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4196 IS each appropriate congressional committee has 1 issued the recommendation required under sec- 2 tion 3(c); and 3 (B) shall be introduced in the House of 4 Representatives (by request) by the Speaker of 5 the House of Representatives or the minority 6 leader of the House of Representatives or by a 7 Member of the House of Representatives des- 8 ignated by the Speaker of the House of Rep- 9 resentatives or the minority leader of the House 10 of Representatives not later than 60 days after 11 the date on which the date on which each ap- 12 propriate congressional committee has issued 13 the recommendation required under section 14 3(c). 15 (2) REINTRODUCTION.—Any joint resolution 16 shall be reintroduced as described in paragraph (1) 17 not later than 60 days after the first day of a Con- 18 gress if— 19 (A) the joint resolution was introduced 20 during the previous Congress after the date 21 that was 210 days before the date of the sine 22 die adjournment of such previous Congress; and 23 (B) there was not a vote in either House 24 of Congress on passage of the joint resolution 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4196.IS S4196 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4196 IS introduced under subparagraph (A) during the 1 previous Congress by which the joint resolution 2 was not agreed to. 3 (b) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REP- 4 RESENTATIVES.— 5 (1) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—Any com- 6 mittee of the House of Representatives to which a 7 joint resolution is referred shall report it to the 8 House of Representatives not later than 180 days 9 after the date on which the joint resolution is intro- 10 duced or reintroduced in the House of Representa- 11 tives under subsection (a). If a committee fails to re- 12 port the joint resolution within that period, the com- 13 mittee shall be discharged from further consider- 14 ation of the joint resolution and the joint resolution 15 shall be referred to the appropriate calendar. 16 (2) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 17 (A) IN GENERAL.—After each committee 18 authorized to consider a joint resolution reports 19 it to the House of Representatives or has been 20 discharged from its consideration, it shall be in 21 order, not later than 210 days after the date on 22 which the joint resolution is introduced or re- 23 introduced in the House of Representatives 24 under subsection (a), to move to proceed to con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4196.IS S4196 pamtma [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]