Whether Secretary of Agriculture Memorandum Concerning Emergency Salvage Timber Sale Program is a 'Rule' under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A)

The Department of Agriculture requested a GAO decision on whether a July 2 memorandum issued by the Secretary of Agriculture concerning the Emergency Salvage Timber Sale Program is a "rule" under a recently enacted provision. GAO found that the memorandum constitutes a "rule" as defined by the provision. GAO further found that Agriculture has distributed the July 2 memorandum to committees and members of Congress and that the Secretary testified about the memorandum before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.