Establishment of the Office of the Public Advocate

Subchapter I of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— (1) by adding at the end the following: 505. Office of the Public Advocate (a) Establishment There is established in the Office of Management and Budget an office to be known as the Office of the Public Advocate. (b) National Public Advocate The Office of the Public Advocate shall be under the supervision of an official to be known as the National Public Advocate, who shall— (1) be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; (2) report to the President; (3) be entitled to compensation at the same rate as the highest rate of basic pay established for the Senior Executive Service under section 5382; (4) have a background in customer service, consumer protection, or administrative law; and (5) have experience working with the public in cases involving rules (as defined in section 551). (c) Duties The duties of the Office of the Public Advocate shall include— (1) assisting agencies in soliciting public participation in the rulemaking process under subchapter II; (2) assisting individuals in participating in the rulemaking process; (3) working with agencies, Congress, and the public to identify problems and improve public participation in the rulemaking process; (4) conducting and publishing research on social equity impacts of the rulemaking process; (5) developing and coordinating social equity definitions across the executive branch; (6) when requested by the agency or by the public through comments submitted through the process described in section 553 of title 5, United States Code, performing, not later than 30 days after the receipt of such a request, a social equity assessment (as such term is defined in the Experts Protect Effective Rules, Transparency, and Stability Act of 2025) for a proposed rule; and (7) facilitating means by which individuals and populations that have not historically participated in the rulemaking process may be better included in the rulemaking process, including by— (A) recommending and implementing new outreach plans; (B) partnering with State, local, and Tribal governments, and with community-based organizations to propagate information about rules changes; and (C) ensuring information about agency rulemaking and changes to rules are written in clear, accessible language that is accessible in multiple languages. (d) Rulemaking Not later than 180 days after the date on which the National Public Advocate is appointed under this subsection or 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, whichever is later, the National Public Advocate shall make rules to carry out this section.; and (2) in the table of sections for such chapter, by inserting after the item relating to section 504 the following: 505. Office of the Public Advocate..