Congressional Review Act
The Congressional Review Act (CRA, 1996) — codified at 5 U.S.C. §§ 801–808 — gives Congress a fast-track mechanism to nullify recently finalized federal regulations. Agencies must submit all new rules to Congress and the GAO before they take effect; Congress then has 60 legislative days to pass a joint resolution of disapproval. Critically, CRA joint resolutions are not subject to Senate filibuster — they require only a simple majority in both chambers, then the President's signature (or a veto override). If a rule is successfully disapproved, it is struck down and the agency is prohibited from issuing any "substantially similar" rule without new congressional authorization — the most powerful feature and the most frequently litigated. The CRA was rarely used for its first two decades: only one rule was overturned between 1996 and 2017 (the Clinton-era OSHA ergonomics rule in 2001). Then the Trump administration used it 16 times in 2017 to wipe out Obama-era regulations across financial services, internet privacy, environmental protection, and labor. The Biden administration used it once. The Trump 2.0 administration is expected to use it aggressively against Biden-era rules. The CRA includes a "lookback" provision: rules finalized in the last 60 legislative days of a Congress can be reviewed by the new Congress — extending the window for new administrations to target rules issued in the final months of the prior administration. This provision was central to the 2017 regulatory rollback and will apply again in 2025.
Current Law (2026)
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Governing law | Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. §§ 801-808) |
| Enacted | 1996 (part of Contract with America Advancement Act) |
| Reporting requirement | Agencies must submit all rules to Congress + GAO before they take effect |
| Review period | 60 legislative days for Congress to act |
| Disapproval mechanism | Joint resolution of disapproval (simple majority in both chambers, presidential signature or veto override) |
| Effect of disapproval | Rule is treated as though it never took effect; agency cannot reissue substantially similar rule |
| Major rule delay | Major rules delayed 60 days before taking effect |
| Judicial review | None — courts cannot review CRA proceedings |
Legal Authority
- 5 U.S.C. § 801 — Congressional review (agencies must report all rules to Congress and GAO; major rules delayed 60 days; disapproval procedure)
- 5 U.S.C. § 802 — Congressional disapproval procedure (expedited floor procedures in the Senate; joint resolution requirements)
- 5 U.S.C. § 803 — Deadlines extended when rule disapproved (statutory deadlines tied to the rule are pushed back)
- 5 U.S.C. § 804 — Definitions (major rule = likely to result in $100M+ economic impact, major increase in costs/prices, or significant adverse effects)
- 5 U.S.C. § 805 — Judicial review barred (no court may review CRA actions)
- 5 U.S.C. § 806 — Applicability; severability (CRA applies notwithstanding any other provision of law; if one part is invalidated, the remainder survives)
- 5 U.S.C. § 807 — Monetary policy exemption (Federal Reserve monetary policy rules are excluded from the CRA — the Fed's interest rate and monetary policy decisions cannot be overturned through this process)
- 5 U.S.C. § 808 — Effective date exceptions (rules about hunting, fishing, or camping programs, and rules an agency certifies as impractical, unnecessary, or contrary to public interest to delay, may take effect without the 60-day major rule waiting period)
How It Works
The Congressional Review Act gives Congress a fast-track procedure to overturn federal agency regulations. It's one of the most powerful legislative tools for checking executive branch rulemaking — and after decades of near-disuse, it has become a significant force in the regulatory landscape during presidential transitions.
Before any federal rule can take effect — whether created through APA notice-and-comment rulemaking or other procedures — the issuing agency must submit a report to both chambers of Congress and the Comptroller General (GAO) containing the rule text, a cost-benefit analysis, and the rule's effective date. For "major rules" — those with an annual economic impact of $100 million or more — the effective date is automatically delayed 60 days from the later of publication or congressional receipt. Within 60 legislative days (not calendar days; recesses don't count), any member of Congress can introduce a joint resolution of disapproval. In the Senate, the CRA provides expedited procedures: automatic committee discharge after 20 calendar days if the committee hasn't acted, floor debate capped at 10 hours, and no filibuster — a simple majority suffices. If both chambers pass the resolution and the President signs it, the rule is nullified.
The CRA's real power lies in two provisions that go beyond simple delay. When a rule is disapproved, the agency may not reissue a rule that is "substantially the same" unless Congress passes new authorizing legislation — meaning disapproval doesn't just pause a regulatory approach, it erects a semi-permanent barrier to reviving it through agency action alone. The lookback window is equally powerful: rules finalized in the final months of a departing administration can be reviewed by the incoming Congress within 60 legislative days of the new session, typically covering rules finalized after roughly June of the prior year. This creates a recurring mechanism for new Congresses with different party control to undo a predecessor's late-term regulations — a dynamic that played out in 2017 (16 Obama-era rules nullified by the Republican Congress) and again in 2025 with Biden-era rules.
How It Affects You
If you're regulated by a federal agency and concerned about regulatory stability: The CRA is your main tool for tracking whether new rules you must comply with might be overturned — but the window is narrow and unpredictable. A rule finalized in the last ~6 months of an outgoing administration is vulnerable to CRA disapproval in the first months of a new Congress with a different party in control. The 2017 use of the CRA by the Republican Congress to overturn 16 Obama-era rules (including CFPB payday lending rules, broadband privacy rules, resource extraction payment disclosure rules, and mine safety rules) established that the CRA is a real and aggressive tool. The Trump 2.0 administration's 119th Congress used it again on Biden-era rules starting in 2025. If you're a business regulated by a rule finalized after roughly June 2024, check whether a CRA disapproval resolution has been introduced in the 119th Congress. Congress.gov allows searching for "SJ Res" (Senate Joint Resolutions) and "HJ Res" (House Joint Resolutions) targeting the regulation. CRA disapprovals that succeed take effect the moment the President signs the resolution — the rule evaporates immediately.
If you're a compliance officer, corporate counsel, or business that has already implemented a regulation: CRA disapproval doesn't just stop the rule going forward — it treats the rule as though it never existed. Compliance actions you've taken based on the rule remain legal (you're not retroactively in violation of anything), but obligations under the rule disappear. The more complicated question is the "substantially similar" bar — if a rule is disapproved, the agency cannot reissue any "substantially similar" regulation without new congressional authorization. For the 2017 CRA disapprovals, agencies generally interpreted the bar narrowly (allowing similar but not identical rules), while some courts and Congress disagreed about the scope. If you're in an industry where a relevant regulation has been disapproved, consult regulatory counsel about what compliance obligations remain, whether the agency can issue replacement guidance, and whether the underlying statutory authority still supports similar requirements.
If you're a federal agency rulemaker or regulatory lawyer: Every new rule — regardless of how it was issued — must be submitted to Congress and GAO before taking effect (5 U.S.C. § 801). This includes guidance documents and other non-notice-and-comment rules that GAO has determined qualify as "rules." For major rules (annual economic impact ≥ $100 million, or other significant effects), the effective date is automatically delayed 60 days from submission or publication, whichever is later — build this into your rulemaking timeline. The biggest operational risk: rules finalized in the last ~6 months before a presidential transition face "lookback" vulnerability in the new Congress. GAO tracks CRA submissions at gao.gov/legal/congressional-review-act — verify submission for any rule where there's doubt. If a CRA resolution passes while your rule is already in effect (because it was finalized over a year ago), it still nullifies the rule.
If you track legislation or work in government affairs: The CRA's expedited Senate procedure is one of the very few mechanisms that bypasses the filibuster and guarantees a Senate floor vote on a simple majority basis. Under 5 U.S.C. § 802: any Senator can force the resolution out of committee after 20 calendar days with a discharge petition signed by 30 Senators; Senate floor debate is capped at 10 hours; amendments are not in order; cloture is not required. This makes the CRA uniquely powerful for a majority that wants to roll back regulations but lacks 60 Senate votes. The 2017 experience showed 14 successful uses in ~4 months; the pattern is that early-session CRA resolutions are more likely to pass before political attention diffuses. The "substantially similar" provision creates lasting regulatory implications — disapproved rules effectively require new legislation to re-regulate the same area, not just new agency action.
State Variations
The CRA is exclusively federal. However, several states have adopted their own versions of legislative review of agency rulemaking, with varying procedures and scopes.
Implementing Regulations
The Congressional Review Act operates primarily through legislative procedure rather than executive branch regulations. The key implementing mechanism is the requirement that agencies submit rules to Congress and the Government Accountability Office before they can take effect, with "major rules" subject to a 60-day delayed effective date. GAO's role in receiving and cataloging rules is governed by internal GAO procedures rather than CFR regulations.
Pending Legislation
The CRA itself has been actively used as a tool in the 119th Congress, with 17+ disapproval resolutions introduced targeting Biden-era rules:
- SJRES 111 — Nullifies Treasury Department rule revising the federal contractor performance rating system. Status: Introduced.
- SJRES 103 — Nullifies VA rule establishing reproductive health services for veterans. Status: Introduced.
- SJRES 146 — Blocks CFPB withdrawal of Regulation Z credit card penalty fee provisions. Status: Introduced.
- SJRES 95 — Overturns IRS guidance on the corporate alternative minimum tax (CAMT). Status: Introduced.
- SJRES 92 — Disapproves FHWA rule on highway management system requirements. Status: Introduced.
- SJRES 106 — Disapproves EPA rule extending compliance deadlines for steam-electric power plant effluent guidelines. Status: Introduced.
- SJRES 109 — Nullifies BLM resource management plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Status: Introduced.
Recent Developments
The CRA was used only once in its first 20 years (2001), but became a major tool in 2017 when Congress used it to overturn 14 Obama-era regulations. It was used again in 2021 to overturn three Trump-era rules, and saw renewed use in 2025 during the latest presidential transition. GAO has issued opinions clarifying which agency actions qualify as "rules" subject to the CRA, expanding its scope beyond traditional notice-and-comment rulemaking to include guidance documents and other agency actions. Rules must be published in the Federal Register before taking effect.