Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (TX-24), a member of the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus, continued to lead the fight to shrink the size and power of the federal government by introducing the Agency Accountability and Cost Transparency Act to rein in the administrative state and stop costly overregulation.

“Nameless, faceless bureaucrats with zero private sector experience regularly attempt to regulate our job creators out of existence,” said Rep. Van Duyne. “I'm introducing legislation to end the cycle of regulating without regard for real-world consequences. The Agency Accountability and Cost Transparency Act will protect our small businesses and the American public by forcing agencies to only issue regulations that are budget neutral.”

BACKGROUND:

• The Agency Accountability and Cost Transparency Act establishes a budget neutrality requirement for federal agencies when issuing major rules, including requiring agencies to publicly issue a cost estimation before issuing a major rule.
• A major rule is defined as a regulation with an annual economic impact of $100 million or more, significant price increases, or market disruption.
• If introducing a new rule, agencies must identify and repeal an existing regulation to offset the cost of the new rule. 
• Cost of the rule is defined as the financial burden on the public, including compliance and implementation costs.
• A new rule cannot impose additional net costs unless balanced by the repeal of an equivalent-cost rule. 
• Agencies must operate transparently – they will be required to include a public statement in the Federal Register confirming if a rule is budget neutral.

Click HERE for bill text.

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