Federal agency rules repealed under the Congressional Review Act
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The Congressional Review Act (CRA) is a federal law passed in 1996 that affords Congress a check on the rulemaking activities of federal agencies. The law creates a review period during which Congress, by passing a joint resolution of disapproval later signed by the president, can overturn a new federal agency rule and block the issuing agency from creating a similar rule in the future.[1][2][3] The CRA had been used to repeal 20 rules as of February 2025.[4][5][6]
Before 2017, Congress had used the CRA successfully one time, to overturn a rule on ergonomics in the workplace in 2001.[1] In the first four months of his first term, President Donald Trump (R) signed 14 CRA resolutions from Congress undoing a variety of rules issued near the end of Barack Obama's (D) presidency.[1][2][3][7] Congress repealed 16 rules using the CRA during the Trump administration.[8] On June 30, 2021, Joe Biden (D) signed three CRA resolutions into law, bringing the total number of rules repealed to 20.[6]
- Bill Clinton: 0 rules repealed under the CRA
- George W. Bush: 1 rule repealed under the CRA
- Barack Obama: 0 rules repealed under the CRA
- Donald Trump: 16 rules repealed under the CRA
- Joe Biden: 3 rules repealed under the CRA
Below is a table showing all of the rules repealed under the Congressional Review Act as of February 2025. It also shows the 17 CRA resolutions that were vetoed and failed to repeal rules:[5][9][10][11]
Federal agency rules challenged under the Congressional Review Act that passed both chambers | ||||
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President | Action date | Title of disapproved rule | Issuing agency or department | Presidential action |
George W. Bush (R) | March 20, 2001 | Ergonomics Program[12] | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Department of Labor) | Signed into law |
Barack Obama (D) | March 31, 2015 | Representation-Case Procedures[13] | National Labor Relations Board | Vetoed |
Barack Obama (D) | December 18, 2015 | Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New, Modified, and Reconstructed Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units[14] | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | Vetoed |
Barack Obama (D) | December 18, 2015 | Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units[15] | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | Vetoed |
Barack Obama (D) | January 20, 2016 | Clean Water Rule: Definition of “Waters of the United States”[16] | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | Vetoed |
Barack Obama (D) | June 8, 2016 | Definition of the Term “Fiduciary”; Conflict of Interest Rule-Retirement Investment Advice[17] | Employee Benefits Security Administration (Department of Labor) | Vetoed |
Donald Trump (R) | February 14, 2017 | Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers[18] | Securities and Exchange Commission | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | February 16, 2017 | Stream Protection Rule[19] | Department of the Interior | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | February 28, 2017 | Implementation of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007[20] | Social Security Administration | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | March 27, 2017 | Federal Acquisition Regulation: Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces[21] | Department of Defense and General Services Administration | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | March 27, 2017 | Resource Management Planning[22] | Bureau of Land Management (Department of the Interior) | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | March 27, 2017 | Accountability and State Plans[23] | Department of Education | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | March 27, 2017 | Teacher Preparation Issues[24] | Department of Education | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | March 31, 2017 | Federal-State Unemployment Compensation Program; Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 Provision on Establishing Appropriate Occupations for Drug Testing of Unemployment Compensation Applicants[25] | Employment and Training Administration (Department of Labor) | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | April 3, 2017 | Non-subsistence Take of Wildlife, and Public Participation and Closure Procedures, on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska[26] | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Department of the Interior) | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | April 3, 2017 | Clarification of Employer's Continuing Obligation to Make and Maintain an Accurate Record of Each Recordable Injury and Illness[27] | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Department of Labor) | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | April 3, 2017 | Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services[28] | Federal Communications Commission | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | April 13, 2017 | Compliance with Title X Requirements by Project Recipients in Selecting Subrecipients[29] | Department of Health and Human Services | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | April 13, 2017 | Savings Arrangements Established by State Political Subdivisions for Non-Governmental Employees[30] | Department of Labor | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | May 17, 2017 | Savings Arrangements Established by States for Non-Governmental Employees[31] | Department of Labor | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | November 1, 2017 | Arbitration Agreements[32] | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | May 21, 2018 | Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act[33] | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau | Signed into law |
Donald Trump (R) | May 29, 2020 | Student Assistance General Provisions, Federal Family Education Loan Program, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program[34] | U.S. Department of Education | Vetoed |
Joe Biden (D) | June 30, 2021 | Update of Commission's Conciliation Procedures[35] | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | Signed into law |
Joe Biden (D) | June 30, 2021 | Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources Review[36] | Environmental Protection Agency | Signed into law |
Joe Biden (D) | June 30, 2021 | National Banks and Federal Savings Associations as Lenders[37] | Office of the Comptroller of the Currency | Signed into law |
Joe Biden (D) | March 20, 2023 | Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights[38] | Employee Benefits Security Administration (U.S. Department of Labor) | Vetoed |
Joe Biden (D) | April 6, 2023 | Revised Definition of "Waters of the United States"[39] | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | Vetoed |
Joe Biden (D) | May 16, 2023 | Procedures Covering Suspension of Liquidation, Duties and Estimated Duties in Accord With Presidential Proclamation 10414[40] | International Trade Administration (U.S. Department of Commerce) | Vetoed |
Joe Biden (D) | June 7, 2023 | Federal Student Aid Programs (Federal Perkins Loan Program, Federal Family Education Loan Program, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program)[41] | U.S. Department of Education | Vetoed |
Joe Biden (D) | June 14, 2023 | Control of Air Pollution From New Motor Vehicles: Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Standards[42] | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | Vetoed |
Joe Biden (D) | September 26, 2023 | Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Lesser Prairie-Chicken; Threatened Status With Section 4(d) Rule for the Northern Distinct Population Segment and Endangered Status for the Southern Distinct Population Segment[43] | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (U.S. Department of the Interior) | Vetoed |
Joe Biden (D) | September 26, 2023 | Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for Northern Long-Eared Bat[44] | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (U.S. Department of the Interior) | Vetoed |
Joe Biden (D) | December 19, 2023 | Small Business Lending Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B)[45] | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau | Vetoed |
Joe Biden (D) | January 24, 2024 | Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Electric Vehicle Chargers[46] | U.S. Federal Highway Administration (U.S. Department of Transportation) | Vetoed |
Joe Biden (D) | May 3, 2024 | Standard for Determining Joint Employer Status[47] | National Labor Relations Board | Vetoed |
Joe Biden (D) | May 31, 2024 | Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121[48] | Securities and Exchange Commission | Vetoed |
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 U.S. News, "Democrats Push to Repeal Congressional Review Act," June 1, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Hill, "The Congressional Review Act and a deregulatory agenda for Trump's second year," March 31, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Smithsonian Magazine, "What Is the Congressional Review Act?" February 10, 2017
- ↑ Quartz, "The obscure law Donald Trump will use to unwind Obama's regulations," December 1, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center, "Congressional Review Act Tracker 2017," accessed July 28, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The White House, "Remarks by President Biden Signing Three Congressional Review Act Bills into Law: S.J.Res.13; S.J.Res.14; and S.J.Res.15," June 30, 2021
- ↑ New York Times, "Which Obama-Era Rules Are Being Reversed in the Trump Era," May 18, 2017
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.J.Res.57," accessed May 22, 2018
- ↑ Government Accountability Office, "Congressional Review Act FAQs," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Reuters, "Trump kills class-action rule against banks, lightening Wall Street regulation," November 1, 2017
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.J.Res.57," accessed May 22, 2018
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Ergonomics Program," accessed August 1, 2017
- ↑ Federal Register, "Representation-Case Procedures," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Federal Register, "Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions From New, Modified, and Reconstructed Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Federal Register, "Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Federal Register, "Clean Water Rule: Definition of “Waters of the United States"," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Federal Register, "Definition of the Term “Fiduciary”; Conflict of Interest Rule-Retirement Investment Advice," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Stream Protection Rule," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Implementation of the NCIS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Federal Acquisition Regulation: Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces," accessed August 1, 2017
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Resource Management Planning," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Accountability and State Plans," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Teacher Preparation Issues," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Federal-State Unemployment Compensation Program," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Non-subsistence Take of Wildlife, and Public Participation and Closure Procedures, on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Clarification of Employer's Continuing Obligation to Make and Maintain an Accurate Record of Each Recordable Injury and Illness," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Compliance with Title X Requirements by Project Recipients in Selecting Subrecipients," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Savings Arrangements Established by State Political Subdivisions for Non-Governmental Employees," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Savings Arrangements Established by States for Non-Governmental Employees," accessed July 31, 2017
- ↑ Regulations.gov, "Arbitration Agreements," accessed November 1, 2017
- ↑ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, "CFPB Bulletin 2013-02," March 21, 2013
- ↑ Federal Register, "Student Assistance General Provisions, Federal Family Education Loan Program, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program," November 26, 2023
- ↑ Federal Register, "86 FR 2974, Update of Commission's Conciliation Procedures," January 14, 2021
- ↑ Federal Register, "85 FR 57018, "Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources Review," September 14, 2020
- ↑ Federal Register, "85 FR 68742," October 30, 2020
- ↑ Federal Register, "Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Federal Register, "Revised Definition of "Waters of the United States," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Federal Register, "Procedures Covering Suspension of Liquidation, Duties and Estimated Duties in Accord With Presidential Proclamation 10414," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Federal Register, "Federal Student Aid Programs (Federal Perkins Loan Program, Federal Family Education Loan Program, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program)," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Federal Register, "Control of Air Pollution From New Motor Vehicles: Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Standards," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Federal Register, "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Lesser Prairie-Chicken; Threatened Status With Section 4(d) Rule for the Northern Distinct Population Segment and Endangered Status for the Southern Distinct Population Segment," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Federal Register, "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for Northern Long-Eared Bat," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Federal Register, "Small Business Lending Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B)," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Federal Register, "Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Electric Vehicle Chargers," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Federal Register, "Standard for Determining Joint Employer Status," November 26, 2024
- ↑ Federal Register, "Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121," November 26, 2024
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