II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1419 To require each agency to repeal 3 existing regulations before issuing a new regulation, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 3, 2023 Mr. SCHMITT (for himself, Mr. BRAUN, Mrs. BRITT, Mr. HAWLEY, and Mr. SCOTT of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af- fairs A BILL To require each agency to repeal 3 existing regulations before issuing a new regulation, 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 ‘‘Expediting Reform 4 And Stopping Excess Regulations Act’’ or the ‘‘ERASER 5 Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 7 In this Act: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1419.IS S1419 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1419 IS (1) AGENCY; RULE.—The terms ‘‘agency’’ and 1 ‘‘rule’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec- 2 tion 551 of title 5, United States Code. 3 (2) MAJOR RULE.—The term ‘‘major rule’’ has 4 the meaning given the term in section 804 of title 5 5, United States Code. 6 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 7 the several States, the District of Columbia, each 8 territory or possession of the United States, and 9 each federally recognized Indian tribe. 10 SEC. 3. REPEAL OF REGULATIONS REQUIRED BEFORE 11 ISSUANCE OF A NEW RULE. 12 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR RULE.—An agency may not 13 issue a rule unless the agency has repealed 3 or more rules 14 described in subsection (c) that, to the extent practicable, 15 are related to the rule. 16 (b) REQUIREMENT FOR MAJOR RULE.— 17 (1) REPEAL REQUIRED.—An agency may not 18 issue a major rule unless— 19 (A) the agency has repealed 3 or more 20 rules described in subsection (c) that, to the ex- 21 tent practicable, are related to the major rule; 22 and 23 (B) the cost of the new major rule is less 24 than or equal to the cost of the rules repealed. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1419.IS S1419 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1419 IS (2) CERTIFIED COST.—For any rule issued in 1 accordance with paragraph (1), the Administrator of 2 the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of 3 the Office of Management and Budget shall certify 4 that the cost of the new major rule is equal to or 5 less than the cost of the rules repealed. 6 (c) REPEALED RULES DESCRIBED.—A rule de- 7 scribed in this section— 8 (1) does not include an interpretative rule, gen- 9 eral statement of policy, or rule of agency organiza- 10 tion, procedure, or practice; and 11 (2) was issued through the notice and comment 12 rulemaking process under section 553 of title 5, 13 United States Code. 14 (d) PUBLICATION REQUIRED.—Any rule repealed 15 under subsection (a) or (b) shall be published in the Fed- 16 eral Register. 17 (e) APPLICABILITY.—This section— 18 (1) applies to any rule or major rule that im- 19 poses a cost or responsibility on a nongovernmental 20 person or a State or local government; and 21 (2) shall not apply to any rule or major rule 22 that relates to the management, organization, or 23 personnel of an agency or procurement by the agen- 24 cy. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1419.IS S1419 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1419 IS SEC. 4. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY OF 1 RULES. 2 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 3 of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the Comptroller 4 General of the United States shall conduct a study and 5 submit to Congress a report that includes, as of the date 6 on which the report is submitted— 7 (1) the number of rules that are in effect; 8 (2) the number of major rules that are in ef- 9 fect; and 10 (3) the total estimated economic cost imposed 11 by the rules described in paragraphs (1) and (2). 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1419.IS S1419 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB