Information Quality Assurance Act of 2025

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6329) to ensure that Federal agencies rely on the best reasonably available scientific, technical, demographic, economic, and statistical information and evidence to develop, issue or inform the public of the nature and bases of Federal agency rules and guidance, and for other purposes.

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.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6329, the Information Quality Assurance Act of 2025.

Historically, thousands of Federal regulations have been imposed each year as an added burden on the American public.

The Code of Federal Regulations, in which these rules are housed, spans 243 volumes that contain over 180,000 single-spaced pages. Agency guidance explaining these regulations to the public likely spans millions more pages.

If we must have rules imposed by Federal regulatory agencies, we should, at the very least, ensure that regulatory agencies rely on the best available information.

Unfortunately, agencies frequently do not rely on the best available information to create their regulations. Year after year, the Federal courts are clogged with litigation brought by regulated parties who point out that Federal agencies have acted based on flawed information.

Over the years, Congress has tried to improve this situation.

In 2000, Congress enacted the Information Quality Act, which charged the Office of Management and Budget and each Federal agency to adopt guidelines to ensure agencies relied on high-quality information.

In 2015, Congress enacted the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act, expanding on the Information Quality Act to further ensure agencies use high-quality information in their program administration.

Still, year after year, disputes arise over whether regulators are basing their decisions on the best-quality information available. Every year, courts strike down agency rules that do not rely on adequate information.

The Information Quality Assurance Act takes several major but straightforward steps to solve that problem. For the first time, it requires that the information which agencies use to form their rules and guidance be the best reasonably available information.

It also includes several additional terms to make sure agencies are finally held to that standard. This legislation will improve the quality of agency decisionmaking, improve the acceptability of new rules and guidance, and avoid the need for many disputes over agencies' use of information to go to court.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill and thank Representative Lisa McClain for her reintroduction of this important legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. McClain).

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

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this bill. It is a simple, commonsense measure that is sure to improve the quality of Federal rulemaking for our constituents.

In the 118th Congress, a similar version of this legislation passed the House on an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 377-4. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in support of this important legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, the Information Quality Assurance Act. This bill is common sense and restores accountability, transparency, and trust in how the Federal Government uses information to make decisions that impact the American people.

Every day, Federal agencies issue regulations that affect our workers, our small businesses, and our local communities. These decisions can carry billions of dollars of economic consequences. Yet, too often, those rules are based on incomplete data, outdated science, or information that hasn't been properly reviewed for accuracy or transparency. That is simply bad governing.

Americans deserve to know that when Washington bureaucrats act, they are using reliable, high-quality information, not assumptions, not political agendas, and not flawed data.

My bill strengthens safeguards to ensure Federal agencies rely on data that meets clear standards for objectivity, integrity, and accountability before new regulations move forward. This bill makes government work better. It ensures decisions are guided by facts, and it protects taxpayers from costly regulatory mistakes.

Businesses, job creators, and families deserve confidence that Federal rules are grounded in reality and not bureaucracy. At its core, this is about trust. It is about trust that government decisions are fair, trust that agencies are transparent, and trust that the American people come before politics.

The Information Quality Assurance Act reinforces a basic principle. Better information leads to better policy, and better policy leads to better outcomes for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud that this effort brings accountability back into the rulemaking process, and I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6329. This is about improving the quality and transparency of information Federal agencies use to make rules.

The bill would require OMB to update their guidance to ensure agencies use high-quality, reliable information when creating new rules. That means the best scientific, technical, economic, or statistical information available.

Agencies would also have to make public the models, methods, and information sources they use in rulemaking. Anyone in the public can then give feedback on the information agencies use. The bill requires OMB to report any public complaints to Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the sponsor of this bill. This bill passed the House

overwhelmingly last Congress, and I again urge my colleagues to support the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I was absent for recorded votes due to a personal commitment. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: YEA on Roll Call No. 71, H.R. 6329; YEA on Roll Call No. 72, S. 2503; NAY on Roll Call No. 73, Ordering the Previous Question on H. Res. 1075; NAY on Roll Call No. 74, H. Res. 1075; YEA on Roll Call No. 75, motion to recommit on H.R. 4626; and NAY on Roll Call No. 76, Passage of H.R. 4626.

Mr. Speaker, due to the blizzard in New York City, I was unable to travel to Washington and I missed votes. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 71, YEA on Roll Call No. 72, NAY on Roll Call No. 73, NO on Roll Call No. 74, YEA on Roll Call No. 75, and NAY on Roll Call No. 76.

personal explanation