Bipartisan Bill Aims to Improve Broken Regulatory Process

 

WASHINGTON (May 2, 2024) – The American Chemistry Council (ACC) welcomes the bipartisan introduction of the “Regulatory Early Notice and Engagement Act” by Representative Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Representative Don Davis (D-NC), and Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN). The bill’s legislative language is taken directly from Executive Order 12866, which has been in place since 1993 and adopted by presidents of both major political parties to improve the regulatory review process.

“As rules are enacted, reversed, and restored with administration changes, industry is left to navigate a sea of regulatory uncertainty and unable to plan for long term investments. This regulatory whiplash impedes our ability to produce these chemicals at home and pushes manufacturing to other countries, like China,” said Chris Jahn, President and CEO, ACC. “All of this undermines national priorities, impedes domestic innovation, and threatens U.S. competitiveness. This bill can help restore order through more vigorous congressional oversight of federal agencies.” 

The “Regulatory Early Notice and Engagement Act” would require that, within one week after initiating a new rulemaking activity, a federal agency would have to make public on its website and send to Congress a regulatory early notice, which must:

• Identify the problem the rule is intended to address and state whether the rule is required by law, necessary to interpret law, or made necessary to address a compelling public need, such as a material failure of private markets.
• State whether existing regulations (or other laws) have created, or contributed to, the problem that a new regulation is intended to correct.
• State whether the agency identified and assessed available alternatives to direct regulation, including the alternative of not regulating.

Further, the bill would require the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to develop and maintain a database containing each regulatory early notice and report to Congress on agency compliance with the Act. The GAO already maintains a searchable database of final rules sent to it by federal agencies to implement a Congressional Review Act. 

“The U.S. economy runs on chemistry,” continued Jahn. “We need to steer clear of raising the cost of living for our already struggling families. Injecting a much-needed dose of common-sense review and transparency to federal rulemaking isn’t just practical, but imperative. We look forward to working with Representatives Reschenthaler, Davis and Burchett, and the U.S. Senate, to support this legislation.”