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Title 5 — Government Organization and Employees

Part I · Chapter 5 — Administrative Procedure

§ 591. Purposes

Statutory text

The purposes of this subchapter are—

(1)

to provide suitable arrangements through which Federal agencies, assisted by outside experts, may cooperatively study mutual problems, exchange information, and develop recommendations for action by proper authorities to the end that private rights may be fully protected and regulatory activities and other Federal responsibilities may be carried out expeditiously in the public interest;

(2)

to promote more effective public participation and efficiency in the rulemaking process;

(3)

to reduce unnecessary litigation in the regulatory process;

(4)

to improve the use of science in the regulatory process; and

(5)

to improve the effectiveness of laws applicable to the regulatory process.

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

  1. Pub. L. 89–554 · 80 Stat. 378

    Enacted · 5 U.S.C. § 591

    Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 388, § 571

    Source evidence

    Code source credit
    Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 388, § 571

  2. Administrative Procedure Technical Amendments Act of 1991

    Pub. L. 102–354 § 2(2) · 106 Stat. 944

    Changed · 5 U.S.C. § 591

    Pub. L. 102–354 renumbered section 571 of this title as this section

    Source evidence

    Code amendment note
    Pub. L. 102–354 renumbered section 571 of this title as this section.

    Enacted provision · exact public law section
    (2) by redesignating sections 571 through 576 as sections 591 through 596, respectively; and

  3. Federal Regulatory Improvement Act of 2004

    Pub. L. 108–401 § 2(a) · 118 Stat. 2255

    Amended · 5 U.S.C. § 591

    Pub. L. 108–401 amended section catchline and text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “It is the purpose of this subchapter to provide suitable arrangements through which Federal agencies, assisted by outside experts, may cooperatively study mutual problems, exchange information, and develop recommendations for action by proper authorities to the end that private rights may be fully protected and regulatory activities and other Federal responsibilities may be carried out expeditiously in the public interest.”

    Source evidence

    Code amendment note
    Pub. L. 108–401 amended section catchline and text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “It is the purpose of this subchapter to provide suitable arrangements through which Federal agencies, assisted by outside experts, may cooperatively study mutual problems, exchange information, and develop recommendations for action by proper authorities to the end that private rights may be fully protected and regulatory activities and other Federal responsibilities may be carried out expeditiously in the public interest.”

    Enacted provision · exact public law section
    (a) Purposes.— Section 591 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: “§ 591. Purposes   “The purposes of this subchapter are— “(1) to provide suitable arrangements through which Federal agencies, assisted by outside experts, may cooperatively study mutual problems, exchange information, and develop recommendations for action by proper authorities to the end that private rights may be fully protected and regulatory activities and other Federal responsibilities may be carried out expeditiously in the public interest; “(2) to promote more effective public participation and efficiency in the rulemaking process; “(3) to reduce unnecessary litigation in the regulatory process; “(4) to improve the use of science in the regulatory process; and “(5) to improve the effectiveness of laws applicable to the regulatory process.” .

2 of 3 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 1 partial

Notes

historicalAndRevision
Historical and Revision Notes
DerivationU.S. CodeRevised Statutes andStatutes at Large
 5 U.S.C. 1045(e).Aug. 30, 1964, Pub. L. 88–499, § 2(e), 78 Stat. 615.

The words “this subchapter” are substituted for “this Act” to reflect the codification of the Administrative Conference Act in this subchapter.

Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 591 was renumbered section 581 of this title.

Amendments1992–2004 · 2 rounds

2004

Pub. L. 108–401 amended section catchline and text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “It is the purpose of this subchapter to provide suitable arrangements through which Federal agencies, assisted by outside experts, may cooperatively study mutual problems, exchange information, and develop recommendations for action by proper authorities to the end that private rights may be fully protected and regulatory activities and other Federal responsibilities may be carried out expeditiously in the public interest.”

1992

Pub. L. 102–354 renumbered section 571 of this title as this section.

Credits

1966–2004 · 3 acts
  1. 1966Pub. L. 89–554, , 80 Stat. 388, § 571
  2. 1992renumbered § 591, Pub. L. 102–354, § 2(2), , 106 Stat. 944
  3. 2004Pub. L. 108–401, § 2(a), , 118 Stat. 2255.
Show as published

(Pub. L. 89–554, , 80 Stat. 388, § 571; renumbered § 591, Pub. L. 102–354, § 2(2), , 106 Stat. 944; Pub. L. 108–401, § 2(a), , 118 Stat. 2255.)

Parsed from the official OLRC USLM XML in data/usc_all/usc05.xml · release point 119-108 · OLRC build 2026-09-09

USLM identifier /us/usc/t5/s591