Big Idea:

• Regulation imposes a huge, unseen tax on American businesses and consumers

• Gosar’s bill would require federal agencies to submit information on the scope and cost of regulations

• Agencies would have to certify whether their rules are in compliance with current overarching laws

• This bill would permanently make government agencies more accountable

Make government agencies more accountable? Yes, please.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar (AZ-04) Introduced H.R. 8006 Regulatory Report Card Act. This legislation has been referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on the Judiciary.

“President Trump has rolled back unnecessary regulations and the Regulatory Report Card Act will secure the President's efforts and further the transparency of current and future bureaucracy. This legislation will provide Americans with a bureaucratic report card so that agencies are held accountable,” said Congressman Gosar.

This legislation is supported by the Competitive Enterprise Institute who made the following statement:

“Regulation imposes a huge but unseen tax on American businesses and consumers, yet regulatory agencies are not held accountable for tracking and reporting those costs to Congress." 

“Rep. Paul Gosar’s Regulatory Report Card Act would go far in restoring accountability by requiring federal agencies submit information on the scope and cost of regulations and compelling agency heads to report regularly to congressional oversight committees." 

“Agencies would have to certify whether their rules are in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act, the Congressional Review Act, and relevant executive orders on regulatory streamlining and oversight. Agencies would also be required to provide regulatory cost estimates and help the public keep track of ‘guidance’ documents by ensuring that they are available online." 

“The disclosures that Rep. Gosar's Regulatory Report Card Act would make permanent are vital to making government more accountable.”

Summary:
H.R. 8006 will establish a letter grade for Agencies based upon Congressionally approved scoring criteria, calculated by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for both a Regulatory Policy Score and an Economic Impact Score.

Regulatory Policy Scoring Criteria:
Is the agency in compliance with Trump Executive Order 13771? (remove two regulations for every one proposed regulation)?
Is the agency in compliance with Trump Executive Order 13777 (requires a regulatory reform officer and taskforce for each agency)?
Does the agency account for total annual regulatory cost, including non-rules regulatory guidance such as memorandums?
Are all formal rules introduced in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)?
Are all hybrid rules introduced in compliance with APA?
Are all informal rules introduced in compliance with APA?
Does the agency publicly disclose regulatory guidance in a centralized web-based location?
Does the agency submit a copy of a regulation to Congress and the Comptroller General, in accordance with the Congressional Review Act?
Does the agency include sunset provisions on a majority of rules?
Does the agency disclose the cost of rules on states and municipalities? 
Does the agency submit all significant actions to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review?
Does the agency allow for public notice and comment on regulatory guidance?
Does the agency submit copies of regulatory guidance to Congress and the Comptroller General?

A link to the bill text can be found here.