Under current law, the Congress can prevent a rule from taking effect by enacting a joint resolution of disapproval. In contrast, H.R. 427 would require enactment of a joint resolution of approval prior to any major rule taking effect. In doing so, H.R. 427 would make the implementation of new major regulations dependent on future legislation. Because CBO does not assume enactment of subsequent legislation in estimating a bill’s effect on direct spending and revenues, this estimate addresses the costs and savings that would be realized if anticipated major rules do not take effect.
Eighty-two major rules have been issued per year, on average, over the past five years. Major rules vary greatly in their nature and scope. CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) cannot determine the budgetary effects of making all future major rules subject to Congressional approval, but we expect that, in the absence of subsequent legislative action affecting those rules, enacting H.R. 427 would have significant effects on both direct spending and revenues. Pay-as-you-go procedures apply because enacting H.R. 427 would affect direct spending and revenues.
CBO expects that implementing H.R. 427 also could have a significant impact on spending subject to appropriation, although we cannot determine the magnitude of that effect.
CBO expects that H.R. 427 would impose no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
