HR572-119

What This Bill Does

The RED TAPE Act changes how agencies justify regulations under the Regulatory Flexibility Act and related OMB review frameworks. It defines benefit-cost analysis and regulatory impact analysis by reference to OMB Circular A-94, executive orders on regulatory review, and OMB Circular A-4. Agencies may not consider non-monetized or unquantified factors in regulatory impact or benefit-cost analyses for proposed, final, or interim final rules. OMB may not authorize, endorse, or itself consider those factors in guidance, memoranda, directives, rules, or review of another agency's analysis. Agencies must publish in the Federal Register, with each covered rule, summaries and full text of each analysis, methodology, economic impact estimates, rationale, and other decision-making information. OMB must issue revised guidance within 90 days. Affected parties may sue in federal district court if an agency considered a banned factor, and courts must declare a final or interim final rule invalid if the agency relied on non-monetized or unquantified factors. The judicial-review rule applies to rules issued on or after November 9, 2023.

Who Benefits and How

Regulated businesses benefit because agencies must justify rules using monetized or quantified analysis and publish the methodology. Parties challenging regulations benefit from an explicit federal cause of action and invalidation remedy. OMB regulatory review staff benefit from a clear statutory directive to revise guidance and police agency analyses. Cost-benefit analysts benefit from stronger demand for quantified economic impact analysis in rulemaking.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal agency economists must remove non-monetized or unquantified factors and publish detailed methods and rationale. OMB regulatory review staff must revise guidance within 90 days and stop approving banned analytical factors. Public health and environmental advocates may bear reduced weight for benefits that are difficult to monetize or quantify. Federal courts must hear challenges and invalidate rules that rely on prohibited factors.

Key Provisions

• Defines benefit-cost analysis and regulatory impact analysis through OMB circulars and regulatory review orders.
• Prohibits agencies from considering non-monetized or unquantified factors in covered rule analyses.
• Prohibits OMB from authorizing, endorsing, or considering those factors.
• Requires Federal Register publication of summaries, full analyses, methods, estimates, rationale, and decision-making information.
• Requires OMB revised guidance within 90 days.
• Creates district-court challenges and rule invalidation for violations, applying to rules issued on or after November 9, 2023.