Republicans Are Using An Arcane Tool To Handcuff Federal Agencies – Huffington Post
WASHINGTON While President Donald Trump distracts the public with his angry tweets, Republicans in Congress have been busy undoing federal regulations that agencies have been working on for years.
GOP lawmakers are dismantling regulations they deem overreaching and burdensome using an obscure law known as the Congressional Review Act, or CRA, which can be used to undo any regulation within 60 days of its finalization. The law, passed in 1996, also bars agencies from writing a substantially similar rule after the initial rule has been blocked a major concern for legal experts and advocates.
The CRA came to be under legislation pushed by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.). Lawmakers wanted an easier way to undo regulations, even though agencies can only issue them according to statutes written by Congress.
Congress had only used the CRA once before Trump took office, which is another reason people are concerned about its implications. There isnt a whole lot of legal precedent concerning how and when it should be used.
In 2001, Republicans used the CRA to undo a Clinton-era regulation creating new workplace ergonomics rules to prevent repetitive injuries. The agency that wrote the rule the Occupational Safety and Health Administration never touched ergonomics standards again.
Ergonomics may sound silly, but the rules werent about desk jockeys dealing with carpal tunnel syndrome. Think more like meat-packers crippled by repetitive injuries those are the people the regulation would have helped the most.
Ergonomic injury is very common among poultry processing workers, both because repetitive knife cuts and hoisting heavy birds on and off the assembly line cause debilitating carpal tunnel, explained University of Maryland law professor Rena Steinzor,formerly president of the Center for Progressive Reform.
When the Obama administration considered allowing faster line speeds at poultry plants in 2012, labor groups opposed the move as dangerous and urged OSHA to write new a new rule to make the work safer; poultry plant workers already suffer injuries at twice the rate of the general workforce.
Steinzor, who has testified before Congress on regulations, credits the 2001 CRA resolution targeting ergonomics as the reason OSHA decided not to write a new rule, though the agency didnt cite it in itsformal denial of petitionsto take action on behalf of poultry workers.
OSHAcowered, said Steinzer. It was battered. It stopped dealing with ergonomics.
Republicans desire to rip up Obama-era rules is no surprise, but using the CRA to do so could have a chilling effect on federal agencies that lasts for years.
In the last month, the House has pushed through 13 resolutions of disapproval reversing Obama-era regulations, including a Labor Department ruleblocking contractors that have repeatedly violated workplace standards from receiving new contracts. The Senate is expected to take up that measure soon, and the House is also eyeing other Labor Department regulations that qualify for CRA action.
What makes passing a disapproval resolution under the CRA so easy is that you only need a simple majority to do it, meaning Democrats in the Senate cant use a filibuster to stop it.
The most interesting and troubling thing about this is that it may very well be the ultimate block on modernizing workplace standards, said Celine McNicholas, labor counsel for the Economic Policy Institute.
The lack of precedent when it comes to the use of the CRA creates a tricky situation for all branches of government, since the agencies are still required to issue rules on specific issues, but cant do so in a way that replicates their previous rule.The CRA states that a rule may not be reissued in substantially the same form, and that the agencies cannot issue a new rule that is substantially the same unless Congress passes a new law requiring a rule on that subject.
McNicholas noted that because the CRA has been used only once before, there has not been a judicial review, nor is there any case law defining how agencies should proceed.
Were in uncharted territory here, she said.
Craig Warga/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Even the 60-day limit on using the CRA is fuzzy, because the time frame is 60 legislative days after finalization, not actual days. The Congressional Research Service reported last fall that any rule agencies finalized after May 30 last year is potentially subject to disapproval which means as many as145 rules are subject to potential repeal.
The main reason the CRA is not used more often is that presidents generally dont want to overturn rules their agencies have created, and will veto any resolutions of disapproval that make it through Congress. Republicans passed five CRAsbetween 2009 and 2016, but Obama vetoed all of them.
Its the time period shortly after the White House switches parties and the reigning party controls both chambers of Congress when the stars alignfor the CRA.
And its not just labor rules Republicans are throwing out. In the first few weeks of the Trump administration, Congress has passed CRAs undoing a Social Security Administration rule meant to keep mentally ill people from buying guns, and a Securities and Exchange Commission rule requiring oil, gas and mining companies to disclose their payments to foreign governments.
The foreign disclosure rule in particular puts the SEC in a bit of a bind, because under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Congress passed in 2010, companies must provide this kind of information to regulators.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who co-authored the law, expressed great frustration with his Republican colleagues who helped write Dodd-Frank but then voted in support of the CRA chopping up the SEC rule.Cardin said he talked to Republican colleagues who had supported that piece of Dodd-Frank, hoping to convince them to flip their vote. It didnt work.
What the Senate did with the CRA, what Republicans did on a straight party-line vote, is outrageous, Cardin said. Its an abuse of the CRA, compromises Americas leadership, and delays substantially and perhaps even the quality of the disclosures that will have to take place.
Cardin admitted that the SEC took too long to write the rules Dodd-Frank required, as its been almost seven years since Congress passed the law. But undoing them now,Cardin said, would damage the countrys international credibility when it comes to fighting corruption, and would make it more difficult for the SEC to find another avenue for fulfilling the Dodd-Frank mandate.
But the SEC will need to try, Cardin said, because he isnt holding his breath in hopes that Congress will advance any other anti-corruption legislation anytime soon.
Environmental advocates have been some of the loudest opponents the CRA. Republicans have already targeted three Interior Department regulations; Trump signed a billundoing regulations to protect waterwaysfrom from coal mining operations on Thursday. Two other bills targeting rules from the Interior Departments Bureau of Land Management are expected to come up for a vote in the Senate when lawmakers return on Feb. 27.
One of those BLM rules cracks down on the amount of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, that natural gas producers are allowed release in drilling operations on federal land. The other ruleupdated BLM guidelineson when and where to allow development on federal lands and provided more opportunities for the public to weigh in on those decisions.
If the Senate follows the House in undoing both rules, environmental advocates will inevitably challenge agencies to write similar regulations opening the door to potential lawsuits.
Its unfortunate that they have decided to take a tool that has such a lack of precedence and that is so blunt and extreme, said Josh Mantell, energy campaign manager with the Wilderness Society. We understand there may be issues with some of these regulations, but the idea that youd throw the entire thing out and not allow anyone to move forward just traps us in the past.
Mantell added that there could be some loopholes for agencies if they want to write a similar rule later. They could issue the regulation under other statutes, or a new administration could direct a different agency with similar jurisdiction to take it on.Still, he said, its unfortunate that five-year processes, with an extreme amount of public engagement, are wiped out through the CRA.
BURGER/PHANIE via Getty Images
One of the rules Republicans put up for a disapproval vote in the House last week came as a surprise to a lot of people, since the rule hadnt received any significant attention when it was issued. It has to do with urine.
In 2012, Congress passed a law that would allow states to make people filing for unemployment insurance submit to drug tests. Democrats hated the idea, but they agreed to the provision in exchange for getting Republican support for an expensive extension of long-term unemployment insurance.
Democrats didnt agree to allow states to just do whatever they want, however. As a compromise to the compromise, the legislation said states could only test people in occupations for which such testing is common, such as jobs with a public safety component. And the bill instructed the Labor Department to come up with a regulation controlling how states decide which workers should be subject to urinalysis. Democrats were confident the department wouldnt allow states to test too many people.
But Republicans neglected to give the Labor Department a deadline for writing those rules. The agency took its time, and didnt release a proposed rule until 2014. Congressional Republicans and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) complained that the draft regulation wouldnt let states drug test enough people. But the rule only received 16 public comments; contentious rules can get tens of thousands of comments.
The Labor Department issued the final version of the regulation last August which is within the timeline for disapproval under the CRA, according to the Congressional Research Service. The delay in drafting the rule could guarantee its demise, as Republicans seek to expanddrug testing for the poor and jobless.
A former Labor Department official said the agency was mindful of the CRA, but had no way of knowing exactly when the cutoff would be.
Also, nobody expected Trump to be president.
When you have a rule with 16 comments and youre making significant changes to address those comments, we didnt think of this as a CRA target, the former official said.
Now that the CRA resolution targeting urine passed the House, the Senate will need to vote before it can head to Trumps desk.
Theoretically, once the urinalysis rule is gone, the Trump Labor Department could reissue a new version that Republicans like better. The CRA language about what constitutes substantially similar regulations has never been tested, and it doesnt say who is the arbiter of what is too similar.It might be up to Congress.
But its also possible that Congress strikes the rule and the Labor Department cant issue a new one. Republicans could try to pass a new drug testing law, but Senate Democrats would probably keep that from happening. Then states will be left with no authority to drug test unemployment claimants at all.
The use of the Congressional Review Act is only the first step for Republicans when it comes to undoing regulations, said Steinzor.
Weve gone DefCon 1, she said. Theres worse still to come.
How will Trumps first 100 days impact you? Sign up for our weekly newsletter and get breaking updates on Trumps presidency by messaging us here.
See the original post:
Republicans Are Using An Arcane Tool To Handcuff Federal Agencies - Huffington Post
- Susan Collins finally got her dream job. Fellow Republicans are making it a nightmare. - Politico - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Republicans in Congress Shift to Backing Ukraine, Matching Trumps Reversal - The New York Times - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- House Speaker Johnson joins growing number of Republicans pressing Trump administration for more transparency on Epstein case - CNN - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Trump tells Texas Republicans to redraw the state congressional map to help keep House majority - AP News - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Behind Republicans Risky Bid to Draw Themselves Five More Seats in Texas - Cook Political Report - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- A closer look at where Senate Republicans stand on Trumps rescission request - PBS - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Senate Republicans narrowly advance Trump's $9 billion spending cut package - NBC News - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- House Republicans block Democratic maneuver to force release of Epstein files - Axios - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- For Some Republicans, Trumps Shift on Epstein Is Just the Latest Breach - The New York Times - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Republicans race to slash $9bn for public broadcasting and foreign aid - The Guardian - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans break with Trump on Epstein - The Washington Post - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Republicans move to block Democratic effort to force release of Epstein files - The Guardian - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Republicans renew a bid to remove noncitizens from the census tally behind voting maps - NPR - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- These Republicans Want More Details Over Handling of Epstein Files - Newsweek - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Opinion | Mamdani for Mayor (if You Want to Help the Republicans) - The New York Times - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Republicans Proceed with Bill to Increase Energy Costs and Make Americans More Vulnerable to Nuclear Threats - House.gov - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Texas Redistricting Maneuver May Harm Republicans More Than It Helps - The American Prospect - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Texas Republicans Oldest Trick In The Book - split-ticket.org - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Republicans in Congress break with Trump on his handling of the Epstein files - NBC News - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Republicans declared it crypto week in the House. Its not going as planned - AP News - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Republicans declared it crypto week in the House. Its not going as planned - WHEC.com - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Ohio House Republicans will try to override Gov. DeWine property tax vetoes - Ohio Capital Journal - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- 211 House Republicans Vote to Block Release of Epstein Files - The New Republic - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- NC Republicans in Congress respond to Gov. Stein's letter on Trump budget - WRAL.com - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Senate Republicans divided over looming vote to rescind $9 billion in spending - The Spokesman-Review - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Republicans confirm Whitney Hermandorfer, the first judge of Trumps second term - MSNBC News - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Trump is crushing it, but the Republicans can still blow it in 2026 and 2028 - The Hill - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Jan. 6 Rioters Are the New Hot Event in Town for Republicans - The Wall Street Journal - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Republicans and Democrats visited Alligator Alcatraz for the first time. Heres what they saw. - Politico - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Pollster: Republicans outnumber Democrats in number of active registered voters in Louisiana for first time - louisianaradionetwork.com - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Cortez Masto Blasts Republicans for Refusing to Fix the Provision in Their Tax Bill that Limits the Wagering Loss Deduction - Senator Catherine Cortez... - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Karoline Leavitt Just Made A Trump Claim So Ridiculous That Even Republicans Are Calling It Out - Yahoo - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Republicans Blame Canada for Wildfire Smoke Suffocating the U.S. - The New York Times - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Senate Republicans block attempt to roll back massive tax hike on professional gamblers - AP News - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Republicans run a risky strategy for holding the House that rests on redrawn maps - Politico - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- As Texas Republicans prepare for mid-decade redistricting, cautionary tales loom from the past - The Texas Tribune - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Trump warns Republicans against rejecting cuts to PBS and NPR - The Hill - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Republicans probably shouldve read their far-right megabill before passing it - MSNBC News - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Republicans Are Changing Their Tune on Immigration: Poll - Newsweek - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Kelly: Republicans cut health care and food for AZ families so the wealthy could pay lower taxes - Arizona Mirror - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Think Democrats and Republicans can't work together? On sealing eviction records, they do. - Stateline - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- How Republicans Rejected A Texas Flood Warning System - The Lever - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Texas Republicans have a brazen new plan to block Democrats from retaking the House in 2026 - Mother Jones - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Ron Faucheux: Will the Big Beautiful Bill sink Republicans? - NOLA.com - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- The big, beautiful bill could get ugly for Republicans - The Hill - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Republicans push for business sanction on sanctuary cities - NJ Spotlight News - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Nicolle Wallace: Trump 'has turned Republicans in the Senate into ghosts' - MSN - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Jury finds former head of Island County Republicans guilty in Elections Office mask mandate case - Whidbey News-Times - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Charlie Kirk sounds the alarm on the biggest threat to Republicans holding the White House in 2028 - Fox News - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Jon Stewart Rips Republicans for Trying to Jedi Mind Trick Americans Into Thinking There Never Was an Epstein List | Video - Yahoo - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Republicans toe Trump line even in aftermath of deadly Texas floods - The Guardian - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Opinion | How Republicans can defy history and survive the midterms - The Washington Post - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- What the Big, Beautiful Bill Reveals About Republicans - Slate Magazine - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Are Republicans bowing to Trump even more than they used to? - KCRW - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- How Republicans sidelined the health care industry and pushed through historic Medicaid cuts - STAT - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Republicans urge US universities to cut ties with 'nefarious' Chinese-backed scholarship program - ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Full List of Republicans Who Voted To Slash Weather Forecasting Funding - Newsweek - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Republicans are already getting hammered over the OBBB - Punchbowl News - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Will Republicans in Virginia pay a price for the One Big Beautiful Bill? Here's what the math shows. - Cardinal News - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- These Republicans fought for green energy tax credits. Trumps latest order could threaten them - Deseret News - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- 'Nefarious mechanism': Republicans issue stern warning to US universities against Chinese scholarship pro - Times of India - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Republicans Are Already Licking Their Lips at the Chance of Another Reconciliation Bill - NOTUS - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Republicans say 'big, beautiful bill' will address states with high SNAP payment error, including Colorado - Denver7 - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Opinion | Everyone Hates This Bill. Dan Osborn Could Make Republicans Pay for It. - The New York Times - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- 'Big, Beautiful Bill': Which House Republicans voted against the bill? - FOX 5 DC - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- 2 Ohio Republicans taking on their own party to protect access to marijuana - News 5 Cleveland WEWS - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Republicans just cut Medicaid. Will it cost them control of Congress? - Politico - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- News Analysis: The healthcare cuts approved by Trump, Republicans go well beyond Medicaid - Los Angeles Times - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- People Are Saying We Might Not Even Make It To The Midterm Election After Elizabeth Warren Tried To Give Hope About Republicans Having To "Face... - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Fake Weather, Fake Flooding: Republicans Are Spreading A Bizarre Conspiracy Theory After The Deadly Texas Floods - HuffPost - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Trump & Congressional Republicans Big Ugly Bill Will Hurt American Families - New Democrat Coalition (.gov) - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- What the Republicans New Policy Bill Means for Higher Education - The New York Times - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Republicans used to be the fiscally conservative party, but look at us now - Idaho Capital Sun - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Trump Goes on a Charm Offensive as He Woos Holdout Republicans - The New York Times - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- U.S. Rep. Castor Statement on Republicans Big Ugly Bill That Will Inflict Outsized Harm & Raise Costs on Floridians - U.S. Representative Kathy... - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Opinion | Republicans may be cooking up a mess in Texas - The Washington Post - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Republicans, Democrats start gaming out Trump's tax-cut bill hit to 2026 elections - Reuters - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Republicans Pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Ahead of the July 4 Deadline - Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- These Republicans Savaged Their Partys Bill, Then Voted for It - The New York Times - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- How Republicans Re-engineered the Tax Code - The New York Times - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]