§658b Duties of Congressional Committees

Summary

When a House or Senate authorization committee sends a public bill or joint resolution that includes any Federal mandate, the committee must include specific information in its report and must quickly give the bill to the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, telling the Director what the mandates are. The committee’s report must name and describe each Federal mandate and say the direct costs to State, local, and tribal governments and to the private sector. It must give a plain judgment of expected costs and benefits, and include numbers when possible (including effects on health, safety, and the environment). The report must explain how the mandate will affect both public and private sectors and how paying public costs or changing or ending the mandate under section 658d(a)(2) would affect competition between government and private businesses, and say what the committee did to avoid harm. If mandates are intergovernmental, the report must also say any changes in funding authorizations, whether the mandates are intended to be unpaid (and why), how funding would be allocated if provided, other federal help that could apply, and, if the bill makes the reduction described in section 658(5)(B)(i)(II), how States should carry out that reduction and any added flexibility. The report must say, when relevant, whether the bill will override any State, local, or tribal laws and explain that effect. Finally, if the CBO Director gives a statement under section 658c, the committee must publish that statement in the report if it is ready when the report is printed, or else put the statement or a summary in the Congressional Record before the bill is considered on the floor.