,i  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hibh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #b1 #bjbd,mr4  
,pfluger 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,guthrie1   
,mr4 ,duncan1 ,mr4 ,alford1 ,mr4        
,griffith1 ,mr4 ,zinke1 ,mrs4 ,miller of
 ,west ,virginia1 ,mr4 ,fry1 and ,mr4   
,newhouse7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on the ,judiciary1 and in    
addition to the ,committee on ,oversight
 and ,accountability1 for a period to be
 subsequently determined by the         
,speaker1 in each case for consideration
 of such provisions as fall within the  
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to provide for certain      
reforms pertaining to ,chevron          
deference4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,returning ,power to
 the ,people ,act of #bjbd4  #b4 ,,gao  
report on ,chevron cases ,not later than
 #ahj days after the date of enactment  
of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general 
of the ,united ,states shall submit to  

,congress a report identifying matters  
wherein ,chevron deference was          
implicated4 ,the report shall compile a 
list of the statutes and rules          
implicated in each such matter that are 
in effect as of the date of the report4 
,the analysis will consider and report  
on the private party interests that were
 or would be impacted as a result of the
 court according such deference4  #c4   
,agency predictability and              
accountability ,each ,federal agency    
shall conduct a review of any matter to 
which the agency was a party since the  
decision was issued in ,chevron         
,u4,s4,a41 ,inc4 v4 ,natural ,resources 
,defense ,council1 ,inc41 #dfg ,u4,s4   
#hcg wherein the agency was accorded    
,chevron deference4 ,the agency shall   
identify the statute or rule implicated1
 the interpretation of the agency1 and  
what alternative interpretations were   
asserted by another party4 ,the agency  
shall reassess the interpretation of the
 agency in a written1 published         

memorandum supporting1 reversing1 or    
modifying such interpretation4  #d4     
,leveling the playing field ,in any     
civil action before a ,federal court1   
the court may not show greater deference
 to the interpretation of a statute by  
one party to the civil action4 ,instead1
 the court shall issue its own          
interpretation pursuant to the          
principles of statutory interpretation4 
#e4 ,proper delegation ,no agency may   
issue a rule except to the extent that  
the authority to do so has been         
explicitly conferred by statute4 ,to the
 extent that no such authority has been 
conferred1 the agency shall assume that 
no such authority has been conferred4   
#f4 ,agency employee interpretation     
accountability ,each agency shall       
evaluate officers and employees to      
identify any officer or employee who    
substantially and personally contributes
 to the interpretation of a statute or  
rule4 ,any such officer or employee     
shall be considered to be exercising    

duties reserved for members of the      
excepted service4  #g4                  
,overcriminalization reduction ,no      
agency may make a rule if any provision 
of law imposes a criminal penalty for an
 offense and an element of such offense 
involves a violation of such rule unless
 the rule also includes a specified mens
 rea4 ,in the case of any such rule in  
effect as of the date of enactment of   
this ,act1 no person may be prosecuted  
for such an offense4  #h4 ,congressional
 direction in civil penalties ,no agency
 may collect any administrative fine or 
civil monetary penalty for the violation
 of a rule1 except to the extent that   
the statute or the rule provides for a  
mens rea standard for any violation     
thereof4  #i4 ,access to independent    
courts ,any determination by a ,federal 
agency in a proceeding before that      
agency shall be subject to direct appeal
 to a ,federal district court unless a  
statute explicitly specifies an         
administrative process that must be     

exhausted4  #aj4 ,fairness in           
administrative adjudication ,in the case
 of any proceeding before an agency1 if 
an appeal may not be taken to a ,federal
 district court or a ,federal ,court of 
,appeals until the final exhaustion of  
all administrative remedies1 any appeal 
thereafter shall be reviewed de novo and
 the record of proceedings before the   
agency shall1 at any party's request1 be
 supplemented or set aside for a trial  
de novo4  #aa4 ,transparency in agency  
action ,any final agency action may only
 rely on pre-published1 publicly        
available and accessible materials in   
the form of rules1 agency guidance1     
memorandum or other types of agency     
policy documents4 ,if a court determines
 that an agency action is not clear and 
accessible to a member of the general   
public on a website or similar database 
prior to the decision being made1 the   
agency action relying on such           
inaccessible policy guidance shall be   
considered void4  #ab4 ,definitions ,in 

this ,act-- 7#a7 terms used have the    
meanings given such terms in section    
#eea of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code2
  7#b7 the term matter means a case     
before a ,federal court1 a proceeding   
before an agency1 or an agency decision2
 and  7#c7 the term ,chevron deference  
means deference accorded by a court to  
the interpretation of a ,federal statute
 by a ,federal agency pursuant to the   
decision in ,chevron ,u4,s4,a41 ,inc4 v4
 ,natural ,resources ,defense ,council1 
,inc41 #dfg ,u4,s4 #hcg4