Gao Database Modernization Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. BENTZ. 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.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: S. 679

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``GAO Database Modernization Act of 2023''. SEC. 2. RULES NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

(a) In General.--Section 801(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``(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, replaced, amended, or otherwise made ineffective.''.

(b) Sunset.--Effective on the date that is 6 years after the date of enactment of this Act, section 801(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking subparagraph (D), as added by subsection (a).

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Mr. BENTZ. 679.

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.

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Mr. BENTZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

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

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