GAO Database Modernization Act of 2023

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 679) to amend chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, to require Federal agencies to submit to the Comptroller General of the United States a report on rules that are revoked, suspended, replaced, amended, or otherwise made ineffective.

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 S. 679.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 679, the GAO Database Modernization Act. This is an important piece of legislation that would help Congress, the Government Accountability Office, and the public keep track of the rulemaking activities of the administrative state.

Under the Congressional Review Act, administrative agencies are required to notify Congress and the GAO when that agency enacts a new rule. This notification process allows Congress to review and, if necessary, consider a resolution to reject the new rule within a certain period of time.

The notification process also allows the GAO to maintain a publicly available database of all rules. This publicly available database allows the American people to access information about the rules and regulations that govern their lives.

One downside, however, is that, under current law, agencies, although required to publish new rules, are not required to notify Congress or the GAO if they amend or eliminate a rule. This can lead to significant confusion. If the GAO is not notified of a change to or revocation of a rule, then it is unable to maintain an up-to-date database for the American people.

Further, because agencies are not required to notify Congress when a rule is modified or eliminated, many activities undertaken by the administrative state occur without any oversight.

As a result, the American people may view out-of-date information when searching for details about regulations, and Congress does not have easy access to all the information required to effectively conduct oversight of the administrative state.

S. 679 seeks to remedy this problem. The GAO Database Modernization Act will require administrative agencies to notify the GAO whenever they amend, suspend, or eliminate any rule.

This bill would allow the GAO to maintain a comprehensive database, tracking all administrative rulemaking developments, not just newly enacted rules. This commonsense, narrowly tailored, and bipartisan proposal will ensure that the American people have access to complete and correct information about the rules that govern their lives.

It will also allow Congress to better monitor the regulatory developments of the administrative state and ensure that Members of Congress are appropriately informed of the regulatory state of play.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the GAO Database Modernization Act would amend the Congressional Review Act to require Federal agencies to report to the GAO certain information about agency rules that are made ineffective due to an agency action or other reason.

The Congressional Review Act, or CRA, requires an agency to submit a report to both Houses of Congress and to GAO whenever it promulgates a rule. This reporting requirement enables Congress to be kept regularly informed of rulemaking activity by all administrative agencies.

GAO has created a publicly accessible database which tracks all rules submitted by the agencies. However, agencies do not currently report updates, suspensions, or alterations of rules to GAO unless any modifications are part of a newly promulgated regulation.

To increase transparency, this legislation amends the CRA to require agencies to submit a report to GAO on rules that are revoked, suspended, amended, or otherwise made ineffective.

While I do not oppose this legislation, I do note that I have concerns with the underlying Congressional Review Act, and I hope that we will have an opportunity to examine whether the law is operating as intended.

The CRA, which provides a fast-track process whereby Congress can overturn an agency regulation, could be misused to undermine lifesaving regulations to protect public health and safety.

Regulations take significant time, resources, public input, and expertise to craft, but the CRA allows narrow, partisan majorities in Congress to do away with them without any of the deliberative processes that went into making them.

Since the CRA also prohibits an agency from issuing another rule ``in substantially the same form'' without congressional authorization, it allows Congress to tie an agency's hands well into the future.

I hope this legislation is a modest improvement to oversight and transparency, but I hope that this is just the beginning of a larger conversation about the CRA and its impact on the regulatory process.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, although I hope that we can engage in a broader conversation about the Congressional Review Act, I appreciate that this bill provides additional transparency into the regulatory process.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 65, S. 679.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.