Congress Disapproves

The 118th Congress has set a record for regulatory disapproval resolutions

Source: Congress.gov.

To date, legislators in the 118th Congress have introduced 109 disapproval resolutions to nix executive branch regulations before they officially take affect. Members of the House have introduced 63 of them and Senators have initiated 46 of them.

Regulatory disapproval resolutions were authorized by the 1996 bipartisan Congressional Review Act (CRA). How do they work? The Congressional Research Service explains,

“before a rule can take effect, an agency must submit a report to each house of Congress and the comptroller general containing a copy of the rule; a concise general statement describing the rule, including whether it is a major rule; and the proposed effective date of the rule. After receiving the report, Members of Congress have specified time periods during which they must submit and act on a joint resolution of disapproval to take advantage of the CRA’s special “fast track” procedures. If both houses pass the resolution, it is sent to the President for signature or veto. If the President were to veto the resolution, Congress could vote to override the veto.”

A decade ago, the CRA was rarely used. A mere six CRA disapproval resolutions were introduced in the 113th Congress. That changed, in part, due to some of us writing pieces that reminded Congress that it had this power. (See here and here.) But it also is a product of divided government and a response to executive agressiveness in using regulatory authority.

Source: Congress.gov.

Few CRA resolutions are successful at stopping regulations—not least because presidents tend to veto efforts to thwart their agencies’ actions. Biden has vetoed the 9 CRA resolutions that have reached his desk. Congress has not overridden any of them.

If you want to learn more about the CRA and its effects on legislative-executive interactions, please listen to my interview with Professor Bridget Dooling.

(As an aside, the increased congressional use of the CRA has slightly revived the presidential veto, the use of which has plummeted over the 20th century.)

ICYMI

Don Wolfensberger, “Budget Act dead at 50 — or is it incognito?,” The Hill, May 16, 2024.

“In 30 of the last 49 years, Congress has not met the April 15 deadline for approving a budget resolution. The last time Congress completed action on all 12 appropriations by Oct. 1 was 1996. It has passed all 12 of the money bills only four times: in 1977, 1989, 1995 and 1997. In the last 11 of 13 years it has not enacted even one of the 12 money bills by Oct. 1.”

Don Wolfensberger, “Republican House Speakers set new precedent on voting,” The Hill, May 9, 2024.

“From eighth grade civics through college government courses to nearly three decades each of working in the House and then the think tank world, I mistakenly believed that Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives could vote only to break a tie. My longstanding misunderstanding was shattered last month when, on April 12, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) voted to make, not break, a tie, thereby defeating a major amendment offered to the FISA authorization, 212-212. (Tie votes defeat a measure or amendment.) That development prompted me to look at other roll call votes in recent times. I was startled to discover that Speaker Johnson is a frequent voter.”

Kelly D. Johnston, “Tools of the Trade, Part II on Lobbying,” Against the Grain, February 24, 2024.

“Having credible research and data on our side didn’t matter. They [the other lobbyists] had the emotion and the easier task of defeat instead of trying to get something enacted through Congress. They won additional supporters as their expertly-led coalition grew. They were joined by Teamsters, which represents many truck drivers. Fewer trucks means fewer drivers, which means fewer dues-paying members.”

Thanks for reading. Enjoy your weekend!