[Senate Report 116-298]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                         Calendar No. 591
                                                       

116th Congress  }                                              {  Report
                                 SENATE                          
2d Session      }                                              {  116-298
_______________________________________________________________________



                     GAO DATABASE MODERNIZATION ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                S. 4222

           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
                            
                            





               November 17, 2020.--Ordered to be printed
               
               
               
               
                           ______

             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
19-010                WASHINGTON : 2020                
               
               
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
RAND PAUL, Kentucky                  THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma             MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
MITT ROMNEY, Utah                    KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
RICK SCOTT, Florida                  KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming             JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Staff Director
                   Joseph C. Folio III, Chief Counsel
               Daniel J. Spino, Professional Staff Member
               David M. Weinberg, Minority Staff Director
               Zachary I. Schram, Minority Chief Counsel
          Yogin J. Kothari, Minority Professional Staff Member
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
                     
                     
                     

                                                       Calendar No. 591
                                                       
                                                       
116th Congress  }                                              {   Report
                                  SENATE
 2d Session     }                                              {  116-298

======================================================================



 
                     GAO DATABASE MODERNIZATION ACT

                                _______
                                

               November 17, 2020.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 4222]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 4222), 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, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................2
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................3
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............4

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    The purpose of S. 4222, the GAO Database Modernization Act, 
is to ensure that the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) 
Congressional Review Act (CRA) database reflects the most up to 
date rules that agencies promulgate. For any rules already 
required by the CRA to be reported to GAO, the bill requires 
agencies to also provide to GAO with updated information if it 
is later revoked, suspended, replaced, amended, or for any 
reason no longer effective.

              II. Background and the Need for Legislation

    Congress passed the CRA in 1996 to establish an expedited 
process for the Senate to review and possibly disapprove of a 
Federal agency's final rules.\1\ Before a rule can take effect, 
the CRA requires the implementing agency to submit a report 
containing the rule, a general description, and a proposed 
effective date to Congress and the Comptroller General.\2\ If 
Congress passes by majority vote a joint resolution 
disapproving of the rule within 60 days, the rule is overturned 
and the agency is prohibited from attempting to issue a 
substantially similar rule.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-
121, Subtitle E, 104th Cong. (1996); Curtis W. Copeland & Richard S. 
Beth, Gov't and Finance Division, Congressional Research Service, 
Congressional Review Act: Disapproval of Rules in a Subsequent Session 
of Congress (Sep. 3, 2008), available at https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/
RL34633.pdf.
    \2\5 U.S.C. Sec.  801.
    \3\5 U.S.C. Sec.  802.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In addition to creating a rule review process, the CRA also 
improved oversight and transparency. The CRA requirement that 
agencies submit new rules to Congress acts as a notification 
system, ensuring that Members and committee staff are aware of 
an agency's rulemaking activities.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\Cong. Research Service, The Congressional Review Act (CRA): 
Frequently Asked Questions, Jan. 14, 2020 available at https://fas.org/
sgp/crs/misc/R43992.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The CRA's provision requiring that agencies submit rules to 
the Comptroller General has resulted in GAO creating a 
publicly-accessible database tracking all major and non-major 
rules that have been submitted to them.\5\ GAO has consistently 
posted a record of receipt of the rules agencies submit to the 
GAO CRA database website.\6\ Agency rules can be found in GAO's 
database by searching by title, agency, date of enactment, 
etc.\7\ The database also hosts GAO reports on major rules to 
add supplemental information on the rules' purpose, impact, and 
compliance.\8\ Currently, agencies do not report updates, 
suspensions, or alterations of rules to GAO unless any 
modifications are part of a newly promulgated regulation, which 
is required to be submitted to both Congress and the 
Comptroller General under the CRA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\U.S. Gov't Accountability Off., Bid Protest, Appropriations Law, 
& Other Legal Work, Congressional Review Act, 2020, available at 
https://www.gao.gov/legal/other-legal-work/congressional-review-
act#database.
    \6\Id.
    \7\Id.
    \8\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    S. 4222 amends the CRA to require agencies to submit a 
report to GAO on rules which are revoked, suspended, amended, 
or otherwise made ineffective. S. 4222 will ensure GAO has the 
ability to keep its voluntary database as current and accurate 
as possible. In doing this, the bill increases agency 
transparency and oversight of the rulemaking process.

                        III. Legislative History

    S. 4222 was introduced on July 20, 2020, by Senator Rick 
Scott (R-FL). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The Committee 
considered S. 4222 at a business meeting on July 22, 2022. The 
legislation passed by voice vote en bloc with Senators Johnson, 
Portman, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, Enzi, Hawley, Peters, 
Carper, Hassan, Harris, and Rosen present.

        IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported


Section 1. Short title

    This section establishes the short title of the bill as the 
``GAO Database Modernization Act.''

Section 2. Rules no longer in effect

    This section amends the CRA to require that an agency 
notify the Comptroller General if it updates, revokes, or 
suspends a rule or section of a rule submitted under the CRA. 
This notification must include the Federal Register citation, 
the submission date, and a description of the rule or section 
of the rule subject to change.

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimates

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, November 10, 2020.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 4222, the GAO 
Database Modernization Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

    
    

    S. 4222 would require federal agencies to report to the 
Government Accountability Office (GAO) whenever the agency 
revokes, suspends, replaces, amends, or makes ineffective a 
rule. Such reports must include a description of the provisions 
of the rule.
    Because the bill would not impose a significant additional 
administrative burden on federal agencies or GAO, CBO estimates 
that implementing the legislation would cost less than $500,000 
over the 2021-2025 period; any spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    Enacting S. 4222 could affect direct spending by some 
agencies that are allowed to use fees, receipts from the sale 
of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs. CBO 
estimates that any net changes in direct spending by those 
agencies would be negligible because most of them can adjust 
amounts collected to reflect changes in operating costs.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

       VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

UNITED STATES CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


TITLE 5--GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


PART I--THE AGENCIES GENERALLY

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 8--CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULEMAKING

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



SEC. 801. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW

    (a)(1)(A) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                  (D) For any rule submitted under subparagraph 
                (A), if the Federal agency promulgating the 
                rule, in whole or in part, revokes, suspends, 
                replaces, amends, or otherwise makes the rule 
                ineffective, or the rule is made ineffective 
                for any other reason, the Federal agency shall 
                submit to the Comptroller General a report 
                containing--
                          (i) the title of the rule;
                          (ii) the Federal Register citation 
                        for the rule, if any;
                          (iii) the date on which rule was 
                        submitted to the Comptroller General; 
                        and
                          (iv) a description of the provisions 
                        of the rule that are being revoked, 
                        suspended, replaces, amended, or 
                        otherwise made ineffective.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *