Comment Integrity and Management Act of 2024

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kansas for yielding. I appreciate the commentary of my friend and colleague, the ranking member of the Oversight and Accountability Committee, Representative Raskin.

It may interest you to know, Mr. Speaker, that Representative Raskin and I have worked in the spirit of mutual respect and camaraderie for 8 years now. We have enjoyed many vigorous debates in this body, and I find it encouraging that he has risen enthusiastically now twice in support of my bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7528, the Comment Integrity and Management Act. This bill is essential in the digital age where our constituents engage with us more and more through electronic means. It seeks to safeguard citizens' First Amendment right to participate in the Federal rulemaking process.

This participation includes the invaluable process of submitting public comments on proposed Federal rules and regulations, comments that help shape the very fabric of our government.

With the advent of digital technology and the rise of artificial intelligence being of increasing import, the channels for such participation have expanded providing broader access but also introducing new challenges. These challenges include computer-generated comments which can obscure genuine public input and hinder our agencies' ability to gauge public sentiment effectively.

The cornerstone of this bill is its commitment to ensuring that every comment submitted by electronic means comes from a real person, not an automated program. By requiring human verification, we are taking a significant step towards preserving the authenticity of public input.

Furthermore, the Comment Integrity and Management Act equips our agencies with the flexibility and tools necessary to efficiently manage the comments they receive. This includes the authority to identify and process computer-generated and mass comments, ensuring that they are handled transparently and effectively.

Additionally, the legislation directs the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance on best practices for managing electronic comments and mandates a report for the United States Government Accountability Office on the prevalence and impact of computer- generated comments.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to recognize the importance of adapting our processes to the realities of the 21st century. It is imperative that we ensure every American is heard and that genuine public input is not drowned out by the noise of automation.

This bill represents a good government approach to embracing technological advancements while safeguarding the principles of public participation and transparency in the rulemaking process.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to salute the distinguished gentleman from Louisiana for making the administrative rulemaking process up-to-date, rapid, transparent, and effective for all of us so we can keep it going.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7528) to amend section 206 of the E-Government Act of 2002 to improve the integrity and management of mass comments and computer- generated comments in the regulatory review process, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Every American deserves the opportunity to participate in our political system, which includes sharing their views on agency rulemaking.

Agencies are required to provide an opportunity to participate in rulemaking by submitting written views or data on draft rules.

Recent advances have expanded the ability for the public to comment on proposed rules electronically. However, agencies may struggle to manage computer-generated or mass comments.

H.R. 7528, the Comment Integrity and Management Act, provides additional support to agencies navigating these new challenges by allowing them the flexibility necessary to manage electronic comments.

The bill requires agencies to verify that any comment submitted electronically has been submitted by an actual human. The bill also provides agencies with additional authorities to assist in processing and analyzing mass comments submitted electronically.

It requires agencies to identify, to the extent practicable, if the comment is a mass comment and indicate this identification on any publicly available copy of the comment.

This bill also requires agencies to establish and make public any policies

they have regarding how they will handle computer-generated and mass comments in the rulemaking process.

Further, this legislation requires the Office of Management and Budget to issue implementing guidance to agencies and requires the Government Accountability Office to submit a report to Congress.

It is time that our Federal agencies adapt their processes to accommodate the latest technologies.

I thank Representative Clay Higgins for his idea and work in developing this forward-thinking legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins).

In closing, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 7528 helps ensure every American is heard and not drowned out by an influx of computer- generated comments.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this necessary legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of the Comment Integrity and Management Act again, as I was saying. I was very eager to support my friend Mr. Higgins' legislation here.

The basic issue is that it has gotten easier for people to post comments online in a rulemaking. That is a really good thing because it means that the process of implementing regulations is more accessible, more transparent, more open, and more participatory, but a number of the agencies have found, I think, what Members of Congress have found. Sometimes you get the same paragraph 100 times, 1,000 times, or 3,000 times.

This bill would simply allow agencies to post a representative sample of mass comments like this. If they choose to do that, they still are required to post the number of such comments received so that the volume of public sentiment is still fairly and effectively registered.

The bill would also require agencies, within 1 year, to establish policies for handling computer-generated comments, which is a growing concern to manage with the recent remarkable advances in artificial intelligence.

I am eager to hear from Mr. Higgins because I view his legislation as one that supports the administrative rulemaking process, which is so much under attack these days. There are people who say that we shouldn't have rules and regulations. Of course, the way our system works is that, in Congress, we pass laws like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, but we don't get into all the fine details. That is left to the executive branch to do a rulemaking. That, too, is an open process where people can register their concerns and send comments in.

We want to make sure that that process continues to operate effectively and is not overwhelmed and overburdened by AI and computer- duplicated comments.

So I thank Mr. Higgins, and I thank Chairman Comer and his staff for working with our side to address some of the concerns we had with the original language.

I understand the administration and some outside groups have also registered some concerns about the legislation that have been addressed. We have worked with them and our majority counterparts to incorporate their feedback into this revised version of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support the bill at this time, and I reserve the balance of my time.