Agency Accountability and Cost Transparency Act of 2025
The Agency Accountability and Cost Transparency Act of 2025 would require heads of federal agencies to actively price-new major rules and seek cost offsets by repealing existing rules. Before or during the major rulemaking process, an agency would estimate the rule’s costs to the public (including costs to understand or comply with the rule), identify any repealable rule that could offset those costs, and repeal such a rule. Each major rule would be accompanied by a Federal Register statement indicating whether the rule is budget neutral. A rule becomes budget neutral if its costs to the public are fully offset by the costs eliminated through the repeal of another identified rule. The bill defines “major rule” by significant economic impact, large price or cost increases, or notable adverse effects on competition, employment, productivity, innovation, or U.S. competitiveness. It broadens what counts as a “rule” to include interpretive rules, policy statements, and guidance documents, while excluding certain narrowly targeted or internal agency rules. The overarching aim is greater accountability and transparency in regulatory cost impacts, with a built-in mechanism to offset new costs by repealing existing rules. It would impose new cost-estimation and repeal requirements on agencies and affect how major rules are presented to the public.
Key Points
- 1Pre-rule cost estimation and offset planning: Before promulgating a major rule, the agency must estimate the rule’s cost to the public and identify whether any repealable rule could offset those costs.
- 2Mandatory repeal option: If a repealable rule is identified, the agency must repeal that rule as part of the process to achieve the offset.
- 3Budget neutral certification with major rules: Each major rule published in the Federal Register must include a statement indicating whether the rule is budget neutral.
- 4Broad definition of major rule: Major rules are those with an annual economic impact of $100 million or more, a major increase in costs or prices, or significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or U.S. competitiveness.
- 5Expanded definition of “rule”: The bill treats interpretive rules, general statements of policy, and guidance documents as “rules,” while excluding rules of particular applicability, agency management/personnel rules, and procedural/organizational rules that do not substantially affect non-agency rights or obligations.