Pub.L. 104-122 Making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1996, and for other purposes. <> ...

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reports currently provided to beneficiaries on an annual basis.
    (d) Report to the Congress.--The Commissioner shall report to each 
House of the Congress regarding the results of the pilot study conducted 
pursuant to this section not later than 60 days after the completion of 
such study.

SEC. 107. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE TRUST FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--Part A of title XI of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

        ``protection of social security and medicare trust funds

    ``Sec. 1145. <<NOTE: 42 USC 1320b-15.>>  (a) In General.--No officer 
or employee of the United States shall--
            ``(1) delay the deposit of any amount into (or delay the 
        credit of any amount to) any Federal fund or otherwise vary from 
        the normal terms, procedures, or timing for making such deposits 
        or credits,
            ``(2) refrain from the investment in public debt obligations 
        of amounts in any Federal fund, or
            ``(3) redeem prior to maturity amounts in any Federal fund 
        which are invested in public debt obligations for any purpose 
        other than the payment of benefits or administrative expenses 
        from such Federal fund.

    ``(b) Public Debt Obligation.--For purposes of this section, the 
term `public debt obligation' means any obligation subject to the public 
debt limit established under section 3101 of title 31, United States 
Code.

[[Page 110 STAT. 857]]

    ``(c) Federal Fund.--For purposes of this section, the term `Federal 
fund' means--
            ``(1) the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust 
        Fund;
            ``(2) the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund;
            ``(3) the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund; and
            ``(4) the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust 
        Fund.''.

    (b) <<NOTE: 42 USC 1320b-15 note.>>  Effective Date.--The amendment 
made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 108. PROFESSIONAL STAFF FOR THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADVISORY BOARD.

      Section 703(i) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 903(i)) is 
amended in the first sentence by inserting after ``Staff Director'' the 
following: ``, and three professional staff members one of whom shall be 
appointed from among individuals approved by the members of the Board 
who are not members of the political party represented by the majority 
of the Board,''.

  TITLE <<NOTE: Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 
1996.>>  II--SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY FAIRNESS

SEC. 201. <<NOTE: 5 USC 601 note.>> SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Small Business Regulatory 
Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996''.

SEC. 202. <<NOTE: 5 USC 601 note.>> FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) a vibrant and growing small business sector is critical 
        to creating jobs in a dynamic economy;
            (2) small businesses bear a disproportionate share of 
        regulatory costs and burdens;
            (3) fundamental changes that are needed in the regulatory 
        and enforcement culture of Federal agencies to make agencies 
        more responsive to small business can be made without 
        compromising the statutory missions of the agencies;
            (4) three of the top recommendations of the 1995 White House 
        Conference on Small Business involve reforms to the way 
        government regulations are developed and enforced, and 
        reductions in government paperwork requirements;
            (5) the requirements of chapter 6 of title 5, United States 
        Code, have too often been ignored by government agencies, 
        resulting in greater regulatory burdens on small entities than 
        necessitated by statute; and
            (6) small entities should be given the opportunity to seek 
        judicial review of agency actions required by chapter 6 of title 
        5, United States Code.

SEC. 203. <<NOTE: 5 USC 601 note.>> PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this title are--
            (1) to implement certain recommendations of the 1995 White 
        House Conference on Small Business regarding the development and 
        enforcement of Federal regulations;
            (2) to provide for judicial review of chapter 6 of title 5, 
        United States Code;

[[Page 110 STAT. 858]]

            (3) to encourage the effective participation of small 
        businesses in the Federal regulatory process;
            (4) to simplify the language of Federal regulations 
        affecting small businesses;
            (5) to develop more accessible sources of information on 
        regulatory and reporting requirements for small businesses;
            (6) to create a more cooperative regulatory environment 
        among agencies and small businesses that is less punitive and 
        more solution-oriented; and
            (7) to make Federal regulators more accountable for their 
        enforcement actions by providing small entities with a 
        meaningful opportunity for redress of excessive enforcement 
        activities.

      Subtitle A <<NOTE: 5 USC 601 note.>> --Regulatory Compliance 
Simplification

 SEC. 211. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this subtitle--
            (1) the terms ``rule'' and ``small entity'' have the same 
        meanings as in section 601 of title 5, United States Code;
            (2) the term ``agency'' has the same meaning as in section 
        551 of title 5, United States Code; and
            (3) the term ``small entity compliance guide'' means a 
        document designated as such by an agency.

 SEC. 212. COMPLIANCE GUIDES.

    (a) Compliance Guide.--For each rule or group of related rules for 
which an agency is required to prepare a final regulatory flexibility 
analysis under section 604 of title 5, United States Code, the agency 
shall publish one or more guides to assist small entities in complying 
with the rule, and shall designate such publications as ``small entity 
compliance guides''. The guides shall explain the actions a small entity 
is required to take to comply with a rule or group of rules. The agency 
shall, in its sole discretion, taking into account the subject matter of 
the rule and the language of relevant statutes, ensure that the guide is 
written using sufficiently plain language likely to be understood by 
affected small entities. Agencies may prepare separate guides covering 
groups or classes of similarly affected small entities, and may 
cooperate with associations of small entities to develop and distribute 
such guides.
    (b) Comprehensive Source of Information.--Agencies shall cooperate 
to make available to small entities through comprehensive sources of 
information, the small entity compliance guides and all other available 
information on statutory and regulatory requirements affecting small 
entities.
    (c) Limitation on Judicial Review.--An agency's small entity 
compliance guide shall not be subject to judicial review, except that in 
any civil or administrative action against a small entity for a 
violation occurring after the effective date of this section, the 
content of the small entity compliance guide may be considered as 
evidence of the reasonableness or appropriateness of any proposed fines, 
penalties or damages.

 SEC. 213. INFORMAL SMALL ENTITY GUIDANCE.

    (a) General.--Whenever appropriate in the interest of administering 
statutes and regulations within the jurisdiction of an agency

[[Page 110 STAT. 859]]

which regulates small entities, it shall be the practice of the agency 
to answer inquiries by small entities concerning information on, and 
advice about, compliance with such statutes and regulations, 
interpreting and applying the law to specific sets of facts supplied by 
the small entity. In any civil or administrative action against a small 
entity, guidance given by an agency applying the law to facts provided 
by the small entity may be considered as evidence of the reasonableness 
or appropriateness of any proposed fines, penalties or damages sought 
against such small entity.
    (b) Program.--Each agency regulating the activities of small 
entities shall establish a program for responding to such inquiries no 
later than 1 year after enactment of this section, utilizing existing 
functions and personnel of the agency to the extent practicable.
    (c) Reporting.--Each agency regulating the activities of small 
business shall report to the Committee on Small Business and Committee 
on Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Small 
Business and Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 
no later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this section on 
the scope of the agency's program, the number of small entities using 
the program, and the achievements of the program to assist small entity 
compliance with agency regulations.

 SEC. 214. SERVICES OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.

    (a) Section 21(c)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(c)(3)) 
is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (O), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (P), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (P) the following new 
        subparagraphs:
                    ``(Q) providing information to small business 
                concerns regarding compliance with regulatory 
                requirements; and
                    ``(R) developing informational publications, 
                establishing resource centers of reference materials, 
                and distributing compliance guides published under 
                section 312(a) of the Small Business Regulatory 
                Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.''.

    (b) Nothing in this Act in any way affects or limits the ability of 
other technical assistance or extension programs to perform or continue 
to perform services related to compliance assistance.

SEC. 215. COOPERATION ON GUIDANCE.

    Agencies may, to the extent resources are available and where 
appropriate, in cooperation with the States, develop guides that fully 
integrate requirements of both Federal and State regulations where 
regulations within an agency's area of interest at the Federal and State 
levels impact small entities. Where regulations vary among the States, 
separate guides may be created for separate States in cooperation with 
State agencies.

SEC. 216. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle shall take 
effect on the expiration of 90 days after the date of enactment of this 
subtitle.

[[Page 110 STAT. 860]]

Subtitle B <<NOTE: 5 USC 601 note.>> --Regulatory Enforcement Reforms

 SEC. 221. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this subtitle--
            (1) the terms ``rule'' and ``small entity'' have the same 
        meanings as in section 601 of title 5, United States Code;
            (2) the term ``agency'' has the same meaning as in section 
        551 of title 5, United States Code; and
            (3) the term ``small entity compliance guide'' means a 
        document designated as such by an agency.

 SEC. 222. SMALL BUSINESS AND AGRICULTURE ENFORCEMENT OMBUDSMAN.

    The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) <<NOTE: 15 USC 631 note.>>  by redesignating section 30 
        as section 31; and
            (2) by inserting after section 29 the following new section:

``SEC. 30. <<NOTE: 15 USC 657.>>  OVERSIGHT OF REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT.

    ``(a) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the term--
            ``(1) `Board' means a Regional Small Business Regulatory 
        Fairness Board established under subsection (c); and
            ``(2) `Ombudsman' means the Small Business and Agriculture 
        Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman designated under subsection 
        (b).

    ``(b) SBA Enforcement Ombudsman.--
            ``(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
        this section, the Administrator shall designate a Small Business 
        and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman, who shall 
        report directly to the Administrator, utilizing personnel of the 
        Small Business Administration to the extent practicable. Other 
        agencies shall assist the Ombudsman and take actions as 
        necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of this 
        section. Nothing in this section is intended to replace or 
        diminish the activities of any Ombudsman or similar office in 
        any other agency.
            ``(2) The Ombudsman shall--
                    ``(A) work with each agency with regulatory 
                authority over small businesses to ensure that small 
                business concerns that receive or are subject to an 
                audit, on-site inspection, compliance assistance effort, 
                or other enforcement related communication or contact by 
                agency personnel are provided with a means to comment on 
                the enforcement activity conducted by such personnel;
                    ``(B) establish means to receive comments from small 
                business concerns regarding actions by agency employees 
                conducting compliance or enforcement activities with 
                respect to the small business concern, means to refer 
                comments to the Inspector General of the affected agency 
                in the appropriate circumstances, and otherwise seek to 
                maintain the identity of the person and small business 
                concern making such comments on a confidential basis to 
                the same extent as employee identities are protected 
                under section 7 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 
                U.S.C. App.);
                    ``(C) based on substantiated comments received from 
                small business concerns and the Boards, annually report

[[Page 110 STAT. 861]]

                to Congress and affected agencies evaluating the 
                enforcement activities of agency personnel including a 
                rating of the responsiveness to small business of the 
                various regional and program offices of each agency;
                    ``(D) coordinate and report annually on the 
                activities, findings and recommendations of the Boards 
                to the Administrator and to the heads of affected 
                agencies; and
                    ``(E) provide the affected agency with an 
                opportunity to comment on draft reports prepared under 
                subparagraph (C), and include a section of the final 
                report in which the affected agency may make such 
                comments as are not addressed by the Ombudsman in 
                revisions to the draft.

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