# SCRUB Act of 2025 - Plain Language Summary

## What This Bill Does

The SCRUB Act (Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome Act) creates a new system for reducing federal regulations. The main rule is simple: **whenever a federal agency creates a new regulation, it must eliminate or repeal existing regulations that cost at least as much as the new one**. This is called a "cut-go" procedure—similar to "pay-go" budget rules where new spending must be offset by cuts elsewhere. The bill also establishes a review process where a new entity called the "DOGE" (United States DOGE Service) will systematically search through existing federal regulations to identify and recommend which ones should be repealed to reduce overall regulatory costs.

## Who Is Affected

- **Businesses and industries** would likely benefit from reduced regulatory requirements, potentially lowering compliance costs
- **Federal agencies** would face new constraints on their ability to create regulations without eliminating others
- **Consumers and workers** could be affected if safety, environmental, or labor protections are repealed to offset new rules
- **The general public** may see changes in regulatory protections depending on which rules are eliminated versus created

## Key Provisions

- **Cost-offsetting requirement**: New regulations can only be issued if existing ones costing at least as much are repealed
- **DOGE review process**: A new government entity will identify regulations for elimination, prioritizing major rules, old rules (15+ years), and those with high paperwork burdens
- **Cost-only analysis**: Agencies must focus only on measurable economic costs when deciding which rules to cut—non-monetary factors like health or environmental benefits don't count
- **Two-year window**: Agencies can repeal rules now and use the savings to justify new rules within the next two years