[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8499 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8499
To prohibit the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of the Interior, the
Secretary of Transportation, the Chair of the Council on Environmental
Quality, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from considering,
in taking any action, the social cost of carbon, the social cost of
methane, the social cost of nitrous oxide, or the social cost of any
other greenhouse gas, unless compliant with Office of Management and
Budget guidance, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 26, 2022
Mr. Hudson (for himself, Mr. McKinley, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Carter of
Georgia, Mr. Steube, Mr. Donalds, and Mr. Mullin) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, and
Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of the Interior, the
Secretary of Transportation, the Chair of the Council on Environmental
Quality, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from considering,
in taking any action, the social cost of carbon, the social cost of
methane, the social cost of nitrous oxide, or the social cost of any
other greenhouse gas, unless compliant with Office of Management and
Budget guidance, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Transparency and Honesty in Energy
Regulations Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) as a tool to justify Federal actions by the Secretary
of Energy, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of
Transportation, the Chair of the Council on Environmental
Quality, and the Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission to address greenhouse gas emissions, including the
regulation or prohibition of the exploration, mining,
production, and use of coal and other fossil fuels as energy
sources, the social cost of greenhouse gases, specifically the
social cost of carbon, the social cost of methane, and the
social cost of nitrous oxide, represents the hypothetical cost
of 1 incremental ton of carbon dioxide, methane, or nitrous
oxide emissions in a given year;
(2) the document of the Office of Management and Budget
entitled ``Circular A-4'' and dated September 17, 2003--
(A) guides Federal agencies on the development of
regulatory impact analysis required under Executive
Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; relating to regulatory
planning and review) and other authorities; and
(B) instructs Federal agencies to include discount
rates of 3 and 7 percent and evaluate the costs and
benefits of the regulatory action that accrue to
citizens and residents of the United States;
(3) first developed in 2009 by an interagency working group
that included the Department of Energy, the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and the
Council on Environmental Quality, the estimates for the social
cost of carbon and the subsequently developed social cost of
methane and social cost of nitrous oxide fail to comply with
the 3- and 7-percent discount rates prescribed by the document
of the Office of Management and Budget entitled ``Circular A-
4'' and dated September 17, 2003;
(4) while the document of the Office of Management and
Budget entitled ``Circular A-4'' and dated September 17, 2003,
specifies that, in carrying out an evaluation of the global
effects of a rule, regulation, or action, the evaluation shall
be reported separately from domestic costs and benefits of that
rule, regulation, or action, the social cost of carbon, the
social cost of methane, and the social cost of nitrous oxide
instead calculates the global benefits in lieu of, not in
addition to, the domestic costs of a rule, regulation, or
action;
(5) the use of the estimates of the social cost of
greenhouse gases, including the estimates for the social cost
of carbon, the social cost of methane, and the social cost of
nitrous oxide, in the rulemakings and other actions of the
Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the
Department of the Interior, the Department of Transportation,
and the Council on Environmental Quality was without--
(A) an adequate opportunity for public notice and
comment; and
(B) rigorous scientific peer review;
(6) by Executive order, the interagency working group
described in paragraph (3) was disbanded in March 2017, and the
related estimates were withdrawn;
(7) the Environmental Protection Agency developed new
estimates in line with the document described in paragraph (4)
in EPA-452/R-18-006, dated August 2018, and entitled
``Regulatory Impact Analysis for the Proposed Emissions
Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing Electric
Utility Generating Units; Revisions to Emission Guideline
Implementing Regulations; Revisions to New Source Review
Program'';
(8) Executive Order 13990 (86 Fed. Reg. 7037; relating to
protecting public health and the environment and restoring
science to tackle the climate crisis), issued on January 20,
2021--
(A) reconvened the interagency working group
described in paragraph (3);
(B) directed the head of each Federal agency to
include an interim figure for the social cost of
carbon, the social cost of methane, and the social cost
of nitrous oxide in any consideration of the effect of
greenhouse gas emissions in any regulations and other
relevant agency actions; and
(C) directed the reconvened interagency working
group to review and update the methodology and
estimates for the social cost of carbon, the social
cost of methane, and the social cost of nitrous oxide;
(9)(A) the use of the interim social cost of greenhouse gas
figures was challenged in court and a preliminary injunction
was granted by the United States District Court for the Western
District of Louisiana on February 11, 2022; and
(B) the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the
preliminary injunction on March 16, 2022;
(10) the Environmental Protection Agency relied on the
interagency working group interim estimate of the social cost
of methane, without appropriate peer review or opportunity for
public notice and comment, in attempting to justify the costs
and benefits of the proposed rule entitled ``Standards of
Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources and
Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas
Sector Climate Review'' (86 Fed. Reg. 63110 (November 15,
2021));
(11) prior to the 2017 disbandment of the interagency
working group described in paragraph (3), the Department of the
Interior used the social cost of methane estimate to justify
the costs and benefits of the final rule entitled ``Waste
Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource
Conservation'' (81 Fed. Reg. 83008 (November 18, 2016));
(12) court filings note that various agencies have 38
pending regulatory actions that rely on the interim social cost
of greenhouse gases figures; and
(13) continued use of the social cost of greenhouse gases,
including the social cost of carbon, the social cost of
methane, and the social cost of nitrous oxide by the Department
of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department
of the Interior, the Department of Transportation, the Council
on Environmental Quality, and the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission ignores sound science.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) Social cost of carbon.--The term ``social cost of
carbon'' means--
(A) the estimate of the social cost of carbon
described in--
(i) the document entitled ``Technical
Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon for
Regulatory Impact Analysis Under Executive
Order 12866'', published by the Interagency
Working Group on Social Cost of Carbon, United
States Government, in February 2010;
(ii) the document entitled ``Technical
Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon,
Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Estimates
under Executive Order 13990'', published by the
Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of
Greenhouse Gases, United States Government, in
February 2021;
(iii) the document entitled ``Technical
Support Document: Technical Update of the
Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact
Analysis Under Executive Order 12866'',
published by the Interagency Working Group on
Social Cost of Carbon, United States
Government, in May 2013 and revised in November
2013 and July 2015, and published and revised
by the Interagency Working Group on the Social
Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United States
Government, in August 2016; or
(iv) any successor or substantially related
document; and
(B) any other estimate of the monetized damages
associated with an incremental increase in carbon
dioxide emissions in a given year.
(3) Social cost of greenhouse gas.--The term ``social cost
of greenhouse gas'' means--
(A) the estimate of the social cost of any
greenhouse gas that is described in any successor
document to--
(i) the document entitled ``Technical
Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon for
Regulatory Impact Analysis Under Executive
Order 12866'', published by the Interagency
Working Group on Social Cost of Carbon, United
States Government, in February 2010;
(ii) the document entitled ``Technical
Support Document: Technical Update of the
Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact
Analysis Under Executive Order 12866'',
published by the Interagency Working Group on
Social Cost of Carbon, United States
Government, in May 2013 and revised in November
2013 and July 2015, and published and revised
by the Interagency Working Group on the Social
Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United States
Government, in August 2016;
(iii) the document entitled ``Addendum to
Technical Support Document on Social Cost of
Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis under
Executive Order 12866: Application of the
Methodology to Estimate the Social Cost of
Methane and the Social Cost of Nitrous Oxide'',
published by the Interagency Working Group on
Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United States
Government, in August 2016;
(iv) the document entitled ``Technical
Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon,
Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Estimates
under Executive Order 13990'', published by the
Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of
Greenhouse Gases, United States Government, in
February 2021; or
(v) any successor or substantially related
document; and
(B) any other estimate of the monetized damages
associated with an incremental increase in greenhouse
gas emissions in a given year.
(4) Social cost of methane.--The term ``social cost of
methane'' means--
(A) the estimate of the social cost of methane
described in--
(i) the proposed rule entitled ``Oil and
Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New
and Modified Sources'' (80 Fed. Reg. 56593
(September 18, 2015));
(ii) the final rule entitled ``Oil and
Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New,
Reconstructed, and Modified Sources'' (81 Fed.
Reg. 35824 (June 3, 2016));
(iii) the regulatory impact analysis
entitled ``Regulatory Impact Analysis of the
Final Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission
Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified
Sources'', prepared by the Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation,
in May 2016 and identified by docket ID number
EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0505-7630;
(iv) the document entitled ``Addendum to
Technical Support Document on Social Cost of
Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis under
Executive Order 12866: Application of the
Methodology to Estimate the Social Cost of
Methane and the Social Cost of Nitrous Oxide'',
published by the Interagency Working Group on
Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United States
Government, in August 2016;
(v) the document entitled ``Technical
Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon,
Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Estimates
under Executive Order 13990'', published by the
Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of
Greenhouse Gases, United States Government, in
February 2021; or
(vi) any successor or substantially related
document; and
(B) any other estimate of the monetized damages
associated with an incremental increase in methane
emissions in a given year.
(5) Social cost of nitrous oxide.--The term ``social cost
of nitrous oxide'' means--
(A) the estimate of the social cost of nitrous
oxide described in--
(i) the document entitled ``Addendum to
Technical Support Document on Social Cost of
Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis under
Executive Order 12866: Application of the
Methodology to Estimate the Social Cost of
Methane and the Social Cost of Nitrous Oxide'',
published by the Interagency Working Group on
Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United States
Government, in August 2016;
(ii) the document entitled ``Technical
Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon,
Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Estimates
under Executive Order 13990'', published by the
Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of
Greenhouse Gases, United States Government, in
February 2021; or
(iii) any other successor or substantially
related document; and
(B) any other estimate of the monetized damages
associated with an incremental increase in nitrous
oxide emissions in a given year.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON CONSIDERING THE SOCIAL COST OF GREENHOUSE GAS,
INCLUDING THE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON, THE SOCIAL COST OF
METHANE, AND THE SOCIAL COST OF NITROUS OXIDE.
The Secretary of Energy, under any authority, the Administrator,
under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), the Secretary of the
Interior, under any authority, the Secretary of Transportation, under
any authority, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, under
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.),
and the Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may not
consider the social cost of carbon, social cost of methane, social cost
of nitrous oxide, or social cost of greenhouse gas--
(1) as part of any cost-benefit analysis required under--
(A) any law;
(B) Executive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601 note;
relating to regulatory planning and review); or
(C) Executive Order 13563 (5 U.S.C. 601 note;
relating to improving regulation and regulatory
review);
(2) in any rulemaking;
(3) in the issuance of any guidance;
(4) in taking any other agency action; or
(5) as a justification for any rulemaking, guidance
document, or agency action.
SEC. 5. REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.
Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Administrator, in coordination and consultation with the Secretary
of Energy, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of
Transportation, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, and
the Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall submit to
the Committees on Environment and Public Works and Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate and the Committees on Energy and Commerce and
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report describing
the number of proposed and final rulemakings, guidance documents, and
agency actions that, since January 2009, have used the social cost of
carbon, the social cost of greenhouse gases, the social cost of
methane, or the social cost of nitrous oxide, including the use of the
social cost of carbon, the social cost of greenhouse gases, the social
cost of methane, or the social cost of nitrous oxide as part of any
cost-benefit analysis required under Executive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C.
601 note; relating to regulatory planning and review) or other relevant
authority.
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