00:00The question is now on the amendment in the nature of a substitute. All those in
00:10favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed signify by saying no. No.
00:15In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The amendment is agreed to. Request a
00:19recorded vote. Pursuant to House Rules, further proceedings on this measure will
00:23be postponed. The ranking member Lynch withdraws. The question is now on
00:34favorably reporting HR 2409 as amended. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye.
00:39All those opposed signify by saying no. No. In the opinion chair, the ayes have it.
00:44The bill is ordered favorably. Now I request a recorded vote. A recorded vote is
00:50ordered as previously announced. Further proceedings on the question will be
00:52postponed. Our next item for consideration is HR 67, Modernizing Retrospective
01:00Regulatory Review Act. The clerk will please designate the bill. HR 67, the
01:04Modernizing Retrospective Regulatory Review Act, a bill to require the Office of
01:08Information and Regulatory Affairs, OIRA, to issue guidance for using technology to
01:13retrospectively review existing federal regulations and in consultation with
01:17relevant agencies. Report on the progress of the federal government in making
01:21agency regulations available in a machine readable format. Without objection, the
01:25bill should be considered as read and open for amendment in point. Without
01:27objection to order, the chair recognizes himself to offer an amendment in the nature of
01:30substitute. The clerk please designate amendment. An amendment in the nature of a
01:34substitute to HR 67 as offered by Mr. Comer of Kentucky. Without objection, the
01:38amendment is considered as read and the substitute will be considered as
01:40regional text for the purpose of further amendment. I now recognize the sponsor of the
01:43bill. Representative Biggs from Arizona for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
01:48Thank you for taking up this bill today. I support, obviously, my bill HR 67, the
01:53Modernizing Retrospective Regulatory Review Act. This bill builds on President
01:57Trump's deregulatory agenda, which is to cut red tape, restore accountability, and put
02:01American businesses first. Under his leadership, we've seen how pro-growth
02:06policies lift burdens and unleash opportunity. HR 67 carries that mission
02:11forward. American businesses must be free to grow without being buried under
02:15outdated, duplicative rules from the DC swamp. Thousands of regulations stack up
02:20every year, and agencies lack the tools to clear them out. President Trump
02:24understands this. That's why HR 67 matters. It brings in modern tools like
02:29artificial intelligence to help agencies identify obsolete or conflicting rules
02:34faster and more efficiently. I also want to highlight support from the
02:38Administrative Conference of the United States, which is an independent agency
02:42that advises the President, Congress, and federal agencies on improving
02:45administrative process. And I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a
02:49letter from the Office of the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the
02:52United States, which highlights the ACUS recommendations that are included in my
02:57bill. Without objection, it's ordered. Thank you. HR 67 saves taxpayer dollars, cuts red tape, and clears a path for
03:04American Job Creators. I urge my colleagues to support it. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I'll yield back.
03:10Chairman Yellman yields back. Chair now recognizes Mr. Lynch for five minutes.
03:14Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I cannot accept the current form of this bill. I cannot support it.
03:22The bill would require the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget to issue a report within six months on the progress
03:32of the federal government in making regulations available in a machine-readable format. This is a laudable goal. However, the bill would also require the administrator to issue guidance,
03:46we go with guidance, within one year on how agencies can use technology to identify through retrospective review of regulation typographical errors and inaccurate cross-references.
03:58These are reasonable steps to help modernize the regulatory process. However, the bill adds onerous new requirements for the agencies to submit detailed plans for which regulations they plan to retrospectively review and to implement those plans beginning six months after they are submitted.
04:17The bill also creates an open-ended authority, giving agency heads the discretion to review regulations when such review is not required by statute.
04:28So, when we compare the previous bill, which undermined guidance, this adds a layer of guidance further confusing the overall intent of Congress in the statute.
04:48This could be a dangerous tool in the wrong hands and allow for more resources being used on reviewing rules than actually writing those rules, which I suspect would please the author of this bill.
05:03I have a letter from the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards that addresses these issues and I ask unanimous consent to include it in the record.
05:11Without objection, so ordered.
05:13With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
05:15The gentleman yields back. I now recognize myself to speak in favor of Representative Biggs' bill.
05:20As the regulatory state grows, Congress must ensure agencies review the regulations that currently exist.
05:26Many agencies are already required to engage in periodic retrospective review.
05:30Retrospective review helps agencies decide if the current...
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