Sen. Bill Cassidy's, R-La., Upholding Standards of Accountability Act proposes new requirements on agencies in the wake of the Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron deference, including potential penalties for employees not responding to congressional committee requests. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Senate bill could reduce feds salary to $1 if they don’t respond to congressional requests
The Upholding Standards of Accountability Act would require agency leaders to testify before congressional committees after publishing any new major rule, among other provisions, in the wake of the Chevron deference decision.
The fallout of last month’s Supreme Court decision to end legal deference to agencies when interpreting federal statutes continues to ripple through Congress, with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., penning new legislation that would add new requirements for potential rulemaking, including financial penalties for federal employees who don’t respond to congressional inquiries.
Cassidy’s Upholding Standards of Accountability Act would require agency leaders to testify before relevant congressional committees within 30 days of any major rule change, as well as conduct cost-benefit analyses of any major rule within five years of its effective date, among other provisions.
The bill is among several Republican proposals emerging following the Supreme Court’s June ruling in Relentless and Loper Bright v. Commerce Department, which struck down a four-decade legal precedent known as the Chevron deference that allowed courts to defer to agencies when interpreting ambiguous statutory language.
In the wake of the ruling, which now calls for the judiciary to resolve the legal interpretations in question, Cassidy — the ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee — said in a July 23 statement that the bill would help curtail federal agencies and provide Congress with more oversight.
“For decades, the executive branch has exploited Chevron deference to increase its power beyond what Congress intended, all while skirting congressional oversight,” he said. “Now, with Chevron deference overturned, Congress must work to rein in the executive branch and hold it accountable to the people and their elected representatives.”
Under the proposal, Senate-confirmed nominees would also be required to testify before congressional committees with appropriate jurisdiction — with committee chairs able to waive the rule on a case-by-case basis — would allow agencies to communicate more with Congress when developing proposed rules and beyond the public comment window and would require agencies to respond to committees within 30 days or face penalties.
If an agency has not responded within 60 days of the congressional request, the letter’s recipient would be required to testify before the committee, under the bill. If a request sent from at least one senator and House member is not answered within 90 days, then the recipient’s salary may be reduced to $1 until the agency responds.
The cost-benefit analysis requirement would also require a retrospective review submitted to Congress, the Comptroller General and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, including explanations for when the updated analyses differ from their original assessment.
OIRA would also issue an annual report consisting of the reviews and its recommendations.
Cassidy’s bill follows Sen. Tom Cotton’s, R-Ark., Bureaucratic Overreach Review Act, which aims to have agencies reassess and modify rules in which the past court cases used the Chevron deference to apply to them.
House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and other Republicans have sent letters to multiple agencies, asking them to review regulation in the wake of the recent ruling.
Cassidy’s bill has been referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.