Washington, D.C., March 8, 2024—Two bills based on recent recommendations of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) were reported favorably by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability yesterday.

The Comment Integrity and Management Act (H.R. 7528), introduced by Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), is based on ACUS Recommendation 2021-1, Managing Mass, Computer-Generated, and Falsely Attributed Comments. 

The bill would amend the E-Government Act of 2002 “to improve the integrity and management of mass comments and computer-generated comments” submitted to federal agencies during the notice-and-comment rulemaking process.

The impact of Recommendation 2021-1 is also reflected in last year’s Executive Order 14094, Modernizing Regulatory Review, in which President Biden directed the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to consider guidance or tools to address mass, computer-generated, and falsely attributed comments in notice-and-comment rulemaking.

The Modernizing Retrospective Regulatory Review Act (H.R. 7533), introduced by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), is based in part on ACUS Recommendation 2023-3, Using Algorithmic Tools in Retrospective Review of Agency Rules.

The bill would direct the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), in consultation with the Government Publishing Office and the National Archives and Records Administration, to report on the government’s progress in making agency rules publicly available in a machine-readable format. It would also require OIRA to develop and issue guidance on how agencies can use algorithmic tools, artificial intelligence, and other technologies to review their existing rules more efficiently, cost-effectively, and accurately.

“We congratulate the Committee on its approval of these two bills that, if enacted, would help the government address the novel challenges—and opportunities—presented by artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies in the context of agency rulemaking,” ACUS Chair Andrew Fois said following conclusion of the markup. “We are grateful to the bills’ authors and the Committee for working with ACUS to incorporate, in whole or in part, best practices identified in recent ACUS recommendations. We look forward to further collaboration in the future.”

About ACUS

The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent, non-partisan federal agency within the executive branch dedicated to improving administrative law and federal regulatory processes. It conducts applied research, and provides expert recommendations and other advice, to improve federal agency procedures. Its membership is composed of senior federal officials, academics, and other experts from the private sector. Since 1968, ACUS has issued hundreds of recommendations, published reports and reference guides, and organized forums to improve the efficiency, adequacy, and fairness of administrative processes such as rulemaking and adjudication. Many have resulted in reforms by federal agencies, the President, Congress, and the Judicial Conference of the United States. Learn more at www.acus.gov.

# # #

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin