What This Bill Does
This bill requires the President's office to estimate how Executive orders affect inflation (the rising cost of things people buy). The President must prepare statements analyzing whether major Executive orders will increase prices for consumers or producers. These inflation estimates must be published yearly for Congress and the public to see.
Who It Affects
The President and presidential staff (specifically the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers). All federal government agencies that must provide information to help with these estimates. Congress committees that receive the yearly reports. The American public, who can access these reports on the Office of Management and Budget's public website.
Key Provisions
- The President must prepare inflation impact statements for any major Executive order, estimating whether the order has no impact on inflation, has a measurable impact on consumer or producer prices, or will likely have significant impact but the amount cannot be determined (Sec. 2(a)(1)).
- If an Executive order affects consumer prices measurably, the statement must break down the impact by Food, Energy, and All Items Less Food and Energy categories (Sec. 2(a)(2)).
- Federal agencies must provide the President with information and help needed to prepare these inflation statements (Sec. 2(b)).
- The President must publish a yearly report on the Office of Management and Budget website and send it to Congress committees, containing all inflation statements prepared that year (Sec. 2(c)).
- A "major Executive order" means any order projected to cause at least $1,000,000 in annual economic effect, but does not include emergency relief or orders needed for national security or international treaties (Sec. 2(e)(2)).
What Changes
Presidents must now analyze the inflation effects of major Executive orders before implementing them. The President's office must publicly report these inflation analyses yearly. Congress will have access to information about how presidential orders might affect inflation and prices.
Important Definitions
- **Major Executive order**: Any Executive order projected to cause at least $1,000,000 in annual economic effect, excluding emergency relief and national security orders.
- **Agency**: Not fully defined in this bill; the bill references the definition in another federal law (title 5, United States Code, section 551).
- **State**: Includes each state, Washington D.C., U.S. territories, possessions, and federally recognized Indian Tribes.
- **Consumer price index**: A measure tracking price changes for items consumers buy, broken into Food, Energy, and All Items Less Food and Energy categories.
- **Producer price index**: A measure of price changes for items producers sell.
II
Calendar No. 23
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 347
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 2, 2023
Received; read the first time
MARCH 6, 2023
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
AN ACT
To require the Executive Office of the President to provide
an inflation estimate with respect to Executive orders
with a significant effect on the annual gross budget,
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 ‘‘Reduce Exacerbated
4
Inflation Negatively Impacting the Nation Act’’.
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SEC. 2. EXECUTIVE ORDER MANDATED INFLATION AC-
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COUNTABILITY AND REFORM.
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(a) MANDATORY INFLATION FORECASTING.—
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HR 347 PCS
(1) IN
GENERAL.—For any major Executive
1
order, the President, acting through the Director of
2
the Office of Management and Budget and the Chair
3
of the Council of Economic Advisers, shall prepare
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and consider a statement estimating the inflationary
5
effects of the Executive order, including whether the
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Executive order is determined to have no significant
7
impact on inflation, is determined to have quantifi-
8
able inflationary impact on the consumer or pro-
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ducer price index (including a detailed description of
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such impact), or is determined likely to have a sig-
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nificant impact on inflation but the amount cannot
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be determined at the time the estimate is prepared.
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Any statement prepared under this subsection shall
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incorporate the inflationary impact of the debt serv-
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icing costs associated with the applicable major Ex-
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ecutive order. To the greatest extent practicable, any
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estimate of the inflationary impact of any major Ex-
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ecutive order under this section shall take into ac-
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count the spending patterns of military personnel
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and of residents of non-metropolitan areas, including
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rural areas and farm households.
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(2) CPI IMPACT DISAGGREGATED.—If an Exec-
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utive order is determined to have a quantifiable in-
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flationary impact on the consumer price index under
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HR 347 PCS
subsection (a), the statement required by such sub-
1
section shall include the amount of such impact on
2
the consumer price index in total and disaggregated
3
by the Food, Energy, and All Items Less Food and
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Energy categories of the consumer price index (as
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such categories are determined by the Secretary of
6
Labor in consultation with the Commissioner of the
7
Bureau of Labor Statistics).
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(b) AGENCY ASSISTANCE.—The head of each agency
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shall provide to the President, acting through the Director
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and the Chair, such information and assistance as the
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President, acting through the Director and the Chair, may
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reasonably request to assist the President, acting through
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the Director and the Chair, in carrying out this section.
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(c) REPORTING.—Not later than 180 days after the
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date of the enactment of this Act, and every year there-
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after, the President, acting through the Director and the
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Chair, shall publish on the public website of the Office
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of Management and Budget and submit to the Committees
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on the Budget of the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives, the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern-
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mental Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Over-
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sight and Accountability of the House of Representatives
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a report containing each statement prepared and consid-
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ered under subsection (a) during the year.
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HR 347 PCS
(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
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tion shall be construed to suggest that the task of com-
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bating inflation and bringing down the cost of living is
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the sole responsibility of the Executive Office of the Presi-
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dent, and not also a key pursuit of the United States
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House of Representatives during the 118th Congress
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through thoughtful, productive legislative action.
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(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
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(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the
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meaning given such term in section 551 of title 5,
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United States Code.
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(2) MAJOR
EXECUTIVE
ORDER.—The term
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‘‘major Executive order’’ means any Executive order
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that would be projected (in a conventional cost esti-
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mate) to cause an annual gross budgetary or eco-
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nomic effect of at least $1,000,000, but does not in-
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clude any such measure that—
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(A) provides for emergency assistance or
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relief at the request of any State or local gov-
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ernment or any official of a State or local gov-
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ernment; or
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(B) is necessary for the national security
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or the ratification or implementation of inter-
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national treaty obligations.
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HR 347 PCS
(3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each
1
State of the United States, the District of Columbia,
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each commonwealth, territory, or possession of the
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United States, and each federally recognized Indian
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Tribe.
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Passed the House of Representatives March 1,
2023.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.
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Calendar No. 23
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 347
AN ACT
To require the Executive Office of the President to
provide an inflation estimate with respect to Ex-
ecutive orders with a significant effect on the an-
nual gross budget, and for other purposes.
MARCH 6, 2023
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
VerDate Sep 11 2014
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