March 2, 2017

The House passed the Regulatory Integrity Act of 2017 (H.R.1004) on March 2.

The bill would require agencies to publicize any pending regulatory actions and related communications. The bill would also prohibit agencies from using such public communications to directly advocate or lobby in support of the pending action.

This legislation comes on the heels of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) finding in 2015 that the EPA violated anti-lobbying rules by promoting the Clean Water Rule on social media. Democrats failed in their attempts to amend the rule and define "propaganda," "publicity," and "advocacy" as any information or claims that are unsupported by science or empirical data.

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs is currently reviewing the bill.

Sources: Congress.gov, Environmental Protection Agency, Government Accountability Office