,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hdi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #ca1        
#bjbe,mr4 ,cloud 7for himself1 ,mr4     
,ogles1 ,mr4 ,higgins of ,louisiana1    
,mr4 ,crane1 ,mr4 ,tiffany1 and ,mr4    
,perry7 introduced the following bill2  
which was referred to the ,committee on 
the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill  ,to provide  
limitations for ,federal agencies       
entering into settlement agreements and 
consent decrees1 and for other purposes4
  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be    
cited as the ,no ,regulation ,through   
,litigation ,act of #bjbe4  #b4         
,settlement agreements and consent      
decrees  7a7 ,limitation on consent     
decrees ,the head of a ,federal agency  
may not enter into a consent decree that
 exceeds the authority of the court that
 enters the order related to such       
decree4  7b7 ,limitation on attorneys'  
fees and litigation costs ,a settlement 
agreement or consent decree resulting in
 a regulation or guidance document with 

respect to which a ,federal agency is a 
party may not include the payment of    
attorneys' fees or litigation costs4    
7c7 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7    
,guidance document ,the term guidance   
document-- 7,a7 means an agency         
statement of general applicability      
7other than a regulation that has the   
force and effect of law promulgated in  
accordance with the notice and public   
procedure under section #eec of title   
#e1 ,united ,states ,code7 that-- 7i7   
does not have the force and effect of   
law2 and  7ii7 sets forth-- 7,i7 an     
agency decision or a policy on a        
statutory1 regulatory1 or technical     
issue2 or  7,,ii7 an interpretation of a
 statutory or regulatory issue2 and     
7,b7 may include-- 7i7 a memorandum2    
7ii7 a notice2  7iii7 a bulletin2  7iv7 
a directive2  7v7 a news release2  7vi7 
a letter2  7vii7 a blog post2  7viii7 a 
no-action letter2  7ix7 a speech by an  
agency official2  7x7 an advisory2  7xi7
 a manual2  7xii7 a circular2 or  7xiii7

 any combination of the items described 
in clauses 7i7 through 7xii74  7#b7     
,regulation ,the term regulation-- 7,a7 
means an agency statement of general    
applicability and future effect1 which  
the agency intends to have the force and
 effect of law1 that is designed to     
implement1 interpret1 or prescribe law  
or policy or to describe the procedure  
or practice requirements of an agency2  
7,b7 includes regulations issued        
pursuant to-- 7i7 an informal rulemaking
 under section #eec of title #e1 ,united
 ,states ,code2  7ii7 a formal          
rulemaking under sections #eef and #eeg 
of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code2 and 
7iii7 any combination of the informal   
rulemaking described in clause 7i7 and  
the formal rulemaking described in      
clause 7ii72 and  7,c7 does not         
include-- 7i7 regulations that pertain  
to a military or foreign affairs        
function of the ,united ,states1 other  
than procurement regulations and        
regulations involving the import or     

export of non-defense articles and      
services2  7ii7 regulations or          
regulations that are limited to agency  
organization1 management1 or personnel  
matters2 or  7iii7 any other category of
 regulations exempted by the            
,administrator of ,office of            
,information and ,regulatory ,affairs4  
7d7 ,severability ,if any provision of  
this ,act or the application of any     
provision of this ,act to any person or 
circumstance1 is held invalid1 the      
application of such provision to other  
persons or circumstances1 and the       
remainder of this ,act1 shall not be    
affected thereby4