US Federal House Bill HB3279

US Federal 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 5/8/25
• Refer: 5/8/25

Caption

REG Budgeting Act of 2025

Summary

HB3279, the REG Budgeting Act of 2025, would create a federal “regulatory budget” system administered by the Office of Management and Budget. Each fiscal year, OMB would be required to set a cap on the total amount of new unfunded regulatory costs that all federal agencies may impose in the next fiscal year, and also assign agency-specific limits. Agencies would have to submit proposed limits and supporting cost information in advance, and OMB could require reductions in cumulative regulatory costs to offset new burdens. The bill would also restrict when agencies may finalize or put rules into effect. If a rule would cause the annual regulatory-cost cap to be exceeded, the rule generally could not take effect unless Congress approves it by joint resolution. The bill creates reporting, notice, and public website requirements, allows judicial review of compliance, and establishes an Associate Administrator for Regulatory Budgeting within OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to oversee implementation. It exempts monetary policy rules issued by the Federal Reserve and the Federal Open Market Committee.

Impact

If enacted, the bill would significantly alter federal rulemaking by layering a cost-cap approval process on top of existing administrative procedures. It would amend title 44 to create a new OMB oversight position and would effectively require agencies to account for and justify the estimated costs of new regulations before finalizing them. It would also add new reporting obligations to Congress and the public, and could delay or block rules that increase regulatory costs unless Congress affirmatively approves them.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or vote-based sentiment in the available materials. Based on the bill text, the measure appears designed to appeal to supporters of regulatory restraint, cost control, and congressional oversight of agency rulemaking. The introduction by Republican sponsors suggests a deregulatory or reform-oriented posture, but the legislative record provided does not show broader support or opposition.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely to be whether Congress should impose hard caps on regulatory costs and require joint-resolution approval for rules that exceed those caps. Supporters would likely argue that the bill increases accountability, limits hidden compliance burdens, and forces agencies to prioritize. Opponents would likely argue that it could slow or block needed health, safety, environmental, labor, or consumer protections, and that it shifts significant rulemaking authority from expert agencies to Congress and OMB. The bill’s emergency, criminal-law, national-security, and trade-agreement exceptions suggest an attempt to preserve flexibility, but the scope of the cap-and-approval mechanism remains the central controversy.