,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dfib  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #aa      
7legislative day1 ,july #aj71 #bjbd,mr4 
,cassidy introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,homeland ,security and  
,governmental ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to  
require agency officials to communicate 
with and testify before ,congress       
regarding certain agency actions1 and   
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,upholding ,standards of ,accountability
 ,act of #bjbd or the ,,usa ,act of     
#bjbd4  #b4 ,testimony regarding major  
rules ,section #hja7;a7 of title #e1    
,united ,states ,code1 is amended by    
adding at the end the following3  7#f7  
,agency testimony  7,a7 ,in general     
,except as provided in subparagraph     
7,b71 not later than #cj days after the 
publication of a final major rule in the
 ,federal ,register1 the officer of the 
,federal agency signing such major rule 

shall testify about the rule before each
 standing committee of ,congress with   
jurisdiction under the rules of the     
,house of ,representatives or the       
,senate to report a bill to amend the   
provision of law under which the rule is
 issued4  7,b7 ,waiver  7i7 ,in general 
,the chair of a committee may waive the 
requirements of subparagraph 7,a7 on a  
case-by-case basis with respect to such 
committee4  7ii7 ,written determination 
,if the chair waives such requirements1 
the chair must issue a written          
determination that such testimony is    
unnecessary and would not be beneficial 
to ,congress in carrying out its        
legislative function4  7,c7 ,rule of    
construction ,nothing in this paragraph 
shall be construed to impact the        
appearance of other ,federal officials  
at committee hearings at other times and
 for purposes other than the times and  
purposes described in subparagraph 7,a74
  4  #c4 ,testimony for                 
,senate-confirmed nominees  7a7 ,in     

general ,subchapter ,,iii of chapter #cc
 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is 
amended by adding at the end the        
following3  #ccdi;f4 ,nominee testimony 
7a7 ,in general ,except as provided in  
subsection 7b71 each person nominated to
 a position that requires the advice and
 consent of the ,senate shall testify in
 a hearing before the committee of the  
,senate with jurisdiction under the     
rules of the ,senate over such          
nomination4 ,such hearing shall be held 
before the nomination may be confirmed  
by the ,senate4  7b7 ,waiver  7#a7 ,in  
general ,the chair of a committee may   
waive the requirements of subsection 7a7
 on a case-by-case basis with respect to
 such committee4  7#b7 ,written         
determination ,if the chair waives such 
requirements1 the chair shall issue a   
written determination that such         
testimony is unnecessary and would not  
be beneficial to ,congress in carrying  
out its legislative function4  7c7 ,rule
 of construction ,nothing in this       

section shall be construed to impact the
 appearance of other ,federal officials 
at committee hearings at times and for  
purposes other than the times and       
purposes described in subsection 7a74  4
  7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of 
sections for subchapter ,,iii of chapter
 #cc of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1
 is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section #ccdi;e the         
following3  #ccdi;f4 ,nominee testimony4
  4  #d4 ,retrospective cost-benefit    
review ,section #hja7;a7 of title #e1   
,united ,states ,code1 as amended by    
section #b1 is amended by adding at the 
end the following3  7#g7 ,retrospective 
report  7,a7 ,agency report  7i7 ,in    
general ,not later than #e calendar     
years after the effective date of a     
major rule1 the ,federal agency that    
promulgated the major rule shall submit 
to each ,house of ,congress1 the        
,comptroller ,general1 and the ,office  
of ,information and ,regulatory ,affairs
 and publish on the website of the      

,federal agency a report containing a   
retrospective analysis of the rule based
 on the report submitted under paragraph
 7#a77;,b74  7ii7 ,contents of report   
,the report submitted under subparagraph
 7,a7 shall include1 at minimum-- 7,i7  
an updated cost-benefit analysis of the 
rule1 describing the actual costs and   
benefits of the rule in quantified and  
monetized terms when possible1 and      
otherwise in qualitative terms2  7,,ii7 
an explanation of any material          
differences between the initial         
cost-benefit analysis and the updated   
cost-benefit analysis of the rule2      
7,,iii7 recommendations for changes to  
the rule1 if any1 based on the actual   
costs and benefits of the rule since the
 effective date2  7,,iv7 an updated     
regulatory flexibility analysis of the  
rule1 describing the actual significant 
economic impact on a substantial number 
of small entities1 if any2 and  7,v7 an 
updated analysis of the actual costs    
resulting from the rule imposing        

,federal mandates upon ,state1 local1   
and ,tribal governments and the private 
sector1 if any4  7,b7 ,,oira report ,not
 later than #fj days after the end of   
each fiscal year1 the ,administrator of 
the ,office of ,information and         
,regulatory ,affairs shall submit to    
each ,house of ,congress and to the     
,comptroller ,general a report          
containing-- 7i7 a summary of all       
reports submitted pursuant to           
subparagraph 7,a7 during the previous   
fiscal year2 and  7ii7 a quantitative   
and qualitative analysis of the reports1
 which shall include1 at minimum-- 7,i7 
recommendations to improve future       
cost-benefit analyses conducted by      
,federal agencies promulgating such     
rules2  7,,ii7 recommendations to       
improve future economic or regulatory   
impact analyses conducted by ,federal   
agencies promulgating such rules2       
7,,iii7 any other recommendations for   
agencies for future rulemakings based on
 the analysis of the reports compiled   

pursuant to clause 7i74  7,c7 ,interim  
analysis  7i7 ,in general ,not later    
than #b calendar years after the date of
 enactment of this ,act1 each ,federal  
agency shall submit to each ,house of   
,congress1 the ,comptroller ,general1   
and the ,office of ,information and     
,regulatory ,affairs and publish on the 
website of the agency a report          
containing a retrospective analysis of  
the cost-benefit analyses supporting    
recent major rules4  7ii7 ,contents of  
report ,the report submitted under      
clause 7i7 shall-- 7,i7 contain a       
quantitative and qualitative analysis of
 that agency's rulemaking analyses1     
including plans for prospectively       
improving such analyses based on        
differences between past analyses and   
the real-world impact of the applicable 
rules2 and  7,,ii7 address the greater  
of-- 7aa7 the most recent #bj major     
rules promulgated2 or  7bb7 all major   
rules promulgated during the previous #e
 calendar years4  7,d7 ,effective date  

,the requirements under subparagraph    
7,a7 shall apply to all major rules     
promulgated on or after the date of     
enactment of the ,upholding ,standards  
of ,accountability ,act of #bjbd4 ,the  
requirements under subparagraph 7,b7    
shall apply to the first fiscal year in 
which reports were submitted pursuant to
 subparagraph 7,a74  4  #e4 ,informal   
rulemaking ,section #eec of title #e1   
,united ,states ,code1 is amended by    
adding at the end the following3  7f7   
,nothing in this section shall be       
construed to prohibit an agency from    
communicating with members of ,congress 
regarding a proposed rule outside of the
 comment period provided in subsection  
7c7 and no such communication shall be  
held to be unlawful under section #gjf4 
4  #f4 ,written response  7a7           
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,letter ,the term letter means written  
correspondence signed by-- 7,a7 the     
chair or ranking member of any committee
 of the ,house of ,representatives or   

the ,senate1 not to include             
subcommittees1 pertaining to a matter   
under the jurisdiction of such committee
 under the rules of the ,house of       
,representatives or the ,senate2  7,b7  
at least #g members of any committee of 
the ,house of ,representatives1 not to  
include subcommittees1 including at     
least #c members of a different         
political party than the majority of    
signing members1 pertaining to a matter 
under the jurisdiction of such committee
 under the rules of the ,house of       
,representatives2 or  7,c7 at least #e  
members of any committee of the ,senate1
 not to include subcommittees1 including
 at least #b members of a different     
political party than the majority of    
signing members1 pertaining to a matter 
under the jurisdiction of such committee
 under the rules of the ,senate4  7#b7  
,agency ,the term agency means any      
agency as that term is defined in       
section #eea of title #e1 ,united       
,states ,code4  7#c7 ,agency officer    

,the term agency officer means any      
officer of the ,united ,states employed 
by an agency4  7b7 ,response by agency  
,not later than #cj days after the date 
on which a letter is sent to an agency  
officer1 the agency shall provide a     
substantive response to the letter in   
writing4  7c7 ,failure ,to respond  7#a7
 ,in general ,if the agency fails to    
provide a substantive response to the   
letter on or before the date that is #fj
 days after the letter is sent1 unless  
the authors of such letter approve in   
writing an extension of the response    
deadline1 the agency officer to whom the
 letter is addressed shall appear and   
testify before the committee of the     
chair or ranking member who sent the    
letter pursuant to subsection           
7a77#a77;,a7 or the committee of members
 who sent the letter pursuant to        
subparagraph 7,b7 or 7,c7 of subsection 
7a77#a74  7#b7 ,penalties ,in the case  
of a letter that was sent from both the 
chair or ranking member of a ,senate    

committee and the chair or ranking      
member of a ,house committee1 if the    
agency fails to respond to the letter on
 or before the date that is #ij days    
after the letter was sent1 the annual   
rate of basic pay for the agency officer
 to whom the letter was addressed shall 
be #a during the period-- 7,a7 beginning
 on the first day of the first          
applicable pay period beginning after   
such date2 and  7,b7 ending on the day  
before the first day of the first       
applicable pay period beginning after   
the date on which the agency responds to
 the letter4