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Congressional Review Act Resolutions in the 115th Congress

A holdover from Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America, the Congressional Review Act (CRA) allows Congress — by majority vote in both chambers, with limited debate, no possibility of a filibuster and the president’s signature — to overturn recently issued public protections. Health, safety, consumer and environmental standards that took years of resource-intensive analysis, comment and review can be wiped out in a matter of days or even hours.

During the 115th Congress (2017-2018), President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress repealed 16 public protections using the CRA process. These include:

  • The Arbitration Rule
  • The Oil Anti-Corruption Rule
  • The Stream Protection Rule
  • Broadband Privacy Protections
  • The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order
  • The Land Use Planning Rule
  • Women’s Health Care Protections
  • Gun Limits for the Severely Mentally Ill
  • The Alaska National Wildlife Refuges Rule
  • ESSA Accountability & State Plan Rules
  • ESSA Teacher Preparation Standards
  • OSHA’s Recordkeeping Rule
  • Two Rules on Retirement Savings Plans
  • The Unemployment Compensation Drug Testing Rule
  • The CFPB’s Auto Lending Discrimination Guidance

The table below is a comprehensive list of CRA resolutions introduced, voted on and passed during the 115th Congress. Bolded votes indicate that the CRA resolution was voted down.

RULE HOUSE # SENATE # HOUSE REPEAL
 HOUSE VOTE SENATE REPEAL
 SENATE VOTE WHITE HOUSE
Methane and Natural Gas Waste Rule H.J. Res. 36 S.J. Res. 11 02/03/17 221-191 05/10/17 49-51
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces EO H.J. Res. 37 S.J. Res. 12 02/02/17 236-187 03/06/17 49-48 03/27/17
Stream Protection Rule H.J. Res. 38 S.J. Res. 10 02/01/17 228-194 02/02/17 54-45 02/16/17
Gun Limits for the Severely Mentally Ill H.J. Res. 40 S.J. Res. 14 02/02/17 235-180 02/15/17 57-43 02/28/17
Oil Anti-Corruption Rule H.J. Res. 41 S.J. Res. 09 02/01/17 235-187 02/03/17 52-47 02/14/17
Unemployment Compensation Drug Test Rules H.J. Res. 42 S.J. Res. 23 02/15/17 236-189 03/14/17 51-48 03/31/17
Women’s Health Care Protections H.J. Res. 43 S.J. Res. 13 02/16/17  230-188 03/30/17 51-50 04/13/17
BLM’s Land Use Planning Rule H.J. Res. 44 S.J. Res. 15 02/07/17 234-186 03/07/17 51-48 03/27/17
Wildlife Refuge Oil and Gas Rule H.J. Res. 45
Drilling Safeguards in National Parks H.J. Res. 46
Mitigation Policy Protecting Wildlife Habitats H.J. Res. 52
Rule to Close Tax Inversion Loopholes H.J. Res. 54
Drilling Civil Penalties Updates H.J. Res. 55
Drilling Security and Safety Standards H.J. Res. 56
ESSA Accountability and State Plan Rules H.J. Res. 57 S.J. Res. 25 02/07/17 234-190 03/09/17 50-49 03/27/17
ESSA Teacher Preparation Standards H.J. Res. 58 02/07/17 240-181 03/08/17 59-40 03/27/17
Chemical Facility Safeguards H.J. Res. 59 S.J. Res. 28
Mitigation Policy Protecting Endangered Species H.J. Res. 60
State Retirement Savings Plans Rules H.J. Res. 66 S.J. Res. 32 02/15/17 231-193 05/03/17 50-49 05/18/17
State Retirement Savings Plans Rules H.J. Res. 67 S.J. Res. 33 02/15/17 234-191 03/30/17 50-49 04/13/17
Oil Drilling Measurement Standards H.J. Res. 68
Alaska National Wildlife Refuges Rule H.J. Res. 69 S.J. Res. 18 02/16/17 225-193 03/21/17 52-47 04/03/17
Arctic Drilling Safeguards H.J. Res. 70
Coal Valuation Rule H.J. Res. 71 S.J. Res. 29
Prepaid Card Rule H.J. Res. 73 S.J. Res. 19
ACF River Basin Water Control Standards H.J. Res. 77
Gas Drilling Measurement Standards H.J. Res. 82
OSHA Recordkeeping Rule H.J. Res. 83 S.J. Res. 27 03/01/17 231-191 03/22/17 50-48 04/03/17
Cross-State Air Pollution Update S.J. Res. 21
Broadband Privacy Protections H.J. Res. 86 S.J. Res. 34 03/28/17 215-205 03/23/17 50-48 04/03/17
Utah Regional Haze Rule H.J. Res. 87 S.J. Res. 38
Energy Efficiency Test Procedures for Compressors S.J. Res. 37
Arbitration Rule H.J. Res. 111 S.J. Res. 47 07/25/17 231-190 10/24/17 51-50 11/01/17
Payday Lending Rule H.J. Res. 122 S.J. Res. 56
Net Neutrality Repeal H.J. Res. 129 S.J. Res. 52 05/16/18 52-47
Indirect Auto Lending Guidance H.J. Res. 132 S.J. Res. 57 05/08/17 234-175 04/18/18 51-47 05/21/18
Short-Term Health Insurance Rule H.J. Res. 140 S.J. Res. 63 10/10/18 50-50
Tax-Exempt Organization Reporting Requirements Repeal H.J. Res. 145 S.J. Res. 64 12/12/18 50-49

 

Addenda:

  • The CRA’s carryover period for rules finalized under the Obama administration ended on May 11, 2017.
  • Five resolutions were introduced before the 15th legislative day of the 115th Congress (1/30/17), rendering them invalid under the terms of the Congressional Review Act: H.J. Res. 11, 16, 22, 34 and 35.
  • Contrary to some inaccurate press reports, the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Standards (S. 496) were repealed through regular order, NOT through the CRA process.