Requires an agency, whenever it promulgates a regulation, to submit to each House of Congress a report containing its text and an explanation.
Sets forth expedited congressional procedures for consideration of bills to enact agency regulations.
[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 908 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 908
To require Congress and the President to fulfill their Constitutional
duty to take personal responsibility for Federal laws.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 17, 2001
Mr. Brownback (for himself, Mr. Allard, Mr. Helms, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr.
Inhofe, Mr. Sessions, and Mr. Shelby) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Government
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require Congress and the President to fulfill their Constitutional
duty to take personal responsibility for Federal laws.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional Responsibility Act of
2001''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purposes of this Act are to--
(1) promote compliance with article I of the United States
Constitution, which--
(A) grants legislative power solely to Congress;
and
(B) ensures that Federal regulations will not take
effect unless passed by a majority of the Members of
the Senate and House of Representatives and signed by
the President, or that the Members of the Senate and
House of Representatives override the President's veto;
(2) end the practice whereby Congress delegates its
responsibility for making laws to unselected, unaccountable
officials of the executive branch;
(3) require that regulations proposed by agencies of the
executive branch be affirmatively enacted by Congress before
becoming effective; and
(4) provide a more democratic and accountable Congress and
protect the public from regulations for which elected,
accountable officials are unwilling to take responsibility.
SEC 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the
term in section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Regulation.--The term ``regulation'' has the meaning
given the term ``rule'' in section 551(4) of title 5, United
States Code, except that such term does not include--
(A) any regulation of particular applicability; or
(B) any interpretative rule, general statement of
policy, or any regulation of agency organization,
personnel, procedure, or practice.
SEC. 4. ENACTMENT OF AGENCY REGULATIONS.
(a) Congressional Approval.--A regulation shall not take effect
before the date of the enactment of a bill described in section 5(a)
comprised solely of the text of the regulation.
(b) Agency Report.--Whenever an agency promulgates a regulation,
the agency shall submit to each House of Congress a report containing
the text of the proposed regulation and an explanation of the proposed
regulation. The explanation shall consist of the concise general
statement of the basis and purpose of the regulation required by
section 553 of title 5, United States Code and such explanatory
documents as are mandated by other statutory requirements.
SEC. 5. EXPEDITED CONGRESSIONAL PROCEDURES FOR AGENCY REGULATIONS.
(a) Introduction.--Not later than 3 legislative days after the date
on which an agency submits a report under section 4(b), the Majority
Leader of each House of Congress shall introduce (by request) a bill
comprised solely of the text of the regulation contained in the report.
If such a bill is not introduced in a House of Congress as provided in
the preceding sentence, then any Member of that House may introduce
such a bill.
(b) Bill.--For purpose of this section, the term ``bill'' means a
bill of the two Houses of Congress, the matter after the enacting
clause of which is as follow: ``The following agency regulations are
hereby approved and shall have the force and effect of law:'' (the text
of the regulations being set forth after the semicolon).
(c) Referral and Consideration.--
(1) Referral.--A bill described in subsection (b) shall not
be referred to a committee.
(2) Consideration.--It is in order for any Member of the
respective House to move to proceed to the consideration of the
bill. A Member may make the motion only on the day after the
calendar day on which the Member announces to the House
concerned the Member's intention to make the motion. All points
of order against the bill (and against consideration of the
bill) are waived. The motion is highly privileged in the House
of Representatives and is privileged in the Senate and is not
debatable. The motion is not subject to amendment, or to a
motion to postpone, or to a motion to proceed to the consideration of
other business. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion is
agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order. If a motion to proceed
to the consideration of the bill is agreed to, the respective House
shall immediately proceed to consideration of the bill without
intervening motion, order, or other business, and the bill shall remain
the unfinished business of the respective House until disposed of.
(3) Debate.--Debate on the bill, and on all debatable
motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited
to not more than 1 hour, which shall be divided equally between
those favoring and those opposing the bill. An amendment to the
bill is not in order. A motion further to limit debate is in
order and not debatable. A motion to postpone, or a motion to
proceed to the consideration of other business, or a motion to
recommit the bill is not in order. A motion to reconsider the
vote by which the bill is agreed to or disagreed to is not in
order.
(4) Appeals.--Appeals from the decisions of the Chair
relating to the application of the rules of the Senate or the
House of Representatives, as the case may be, to the procedure
relating to the bill shall be decided without debate.
(d) Final Passage.--A vote on final passage of a bill described in
subsection (b) shall be taken in a House of Congress on or before the
close of the 60th calendar day after the date of the introduction of
the bill in that House.
(e) Exception.--A motion to suspend the application of subsections
(c) and (d) is in order in either House of Congress and shall be
considered as passed or agreed to by a vote of a majority of the
Members voting. Upon the passage of such a motion, the bill shall be
considered in the same manner as other bills.
(f) Treatment if the Other House Has Acted.--
(1) In general.--If, before the passage by one House of a
bill introduced in that House described in subsection (b), that
House receives from the other House a bill described in
subsection (b) comprised of the same text, then:
(A) The bill of the other House shall not be
referred to a committee and may not be considered in
the House receiving it except in the case of final
passage as provided in subparagraph (B)(ii).
(B) With respect to a bill described in subsection
(b) of the House receiving the bill--
(i) the procedure in that House shall be
the same as if no bill had been received from
the other House; but
(ii) the vote on final passage shall be on
the bill of the other House.
(2) Consideration of bill from other house.--Upon
disposition of the bill received from the other House, it shall
no longer be in order to consider the bill that originated in
the receiving House.
(g) Rules of Senate and House of Representatives.--This section is
enacted by Congress--
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate
and House of Representatives, respectively, and as such it is
deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, but
applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in
that House in the case of a bill, and it supersedes other rules
only to the extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and
(2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of
either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the
procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner and to
the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that House.
SEC. 6. JUDICIAL REVIEW.
A regulation contained in a bill enacted under this Act is not an
agency action for the purpose of judicial review under chapter 7 of
title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall apply to agency regulations promulgated after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5121-5122)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.
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