If the Supreme Court limits or overturns the Chevron Deference doctrine, it will likely lead to a phase of regulation by adjudication as agencies adapt
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Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard
OIRA Administrator Under President Obama
Featured: The Congressional Review Act
What it does
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) establishes procedures for Congress to overturn final rules issued by federal agencies. After an agency's rule is reported to Congress, members of Congress have 60 days to introduce a joint resolution disapproving of the rule. When signed into law, these resolutions of disapproval (RDs) overturn the rule in question and bar agencies from issuing a "substantially similar" rule. The CRA offers two unique mechanisms: the Senate "fast-track" procedures and the "lookback" period. For an in-depth discussion of these mechanics and more, see our Regulatory Insight A Lookback at the Law: How Congress Uses the CRA.
CRA Use Trending Upward for Both Major and Non-major Rules, 1996-2022
The Lookback Period
The CRA's lookback provision gives Congress an additional chance to review rules issued in the period starting 60 working days before the end of a session of Congress through the beginning of the subsequent session of Congress.
Commentary:
A Lookback at the Law: How Congress Uses the CRA. Sarah Hay, February 13, 2024. The CRA establishes procedures for overturning final rules issued by federal agencies. How does the CRA work? And how has Congress used the CRA since its inception in 1996?
Our Latest Publications
Economically Significant Final Rules Published by Presidential Year
Technology and Public Commenting: Congress Takes Action
A new legislative proposal aims to implement ACUS recommendations to better handle mass campaigns in the public commenting process.
Summary: Discussing Agile Regulation
Agile regulation may enable agencies to respond to public needs to a greater extent than they could under rigid rulemaking procedures
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