{
  "id": "RL34633",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL34633",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 343736,
      "date": "2008-09-03",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T03:11:43.473043",
      "title": "Congressional Review Act: Disapproval of Rules in a Subsequent Session of Congress",
      "summary": "The Congressional Review Act (\u201cCRA,\u201d 5 U.S.C. \u00a7\u00a7801-808) established a special set of expedited or \u201cfast track\u201d legislative procedures, primarily in the Senate, through which Congress may enact joint resolutions disapproving agencies\u2019 final rules. Members of Congress have 60 \u201cdays of continuous session\u201d to introduce a resolution of disapproval after a rule has been submitted to Congress or published in the Federal Register, and the Senate has 60 \u201csession days\u201d to use CRA expedited procedures. Although the CRA was considered a reassertion of congressional authority over rulemaking agencies, only one rule has been disapproved using its procedures, and that reversal was the result of a specific set of circumstances created by a transition in party control of the presidency.\nThe CRA also indicates that if a rule is submitted to Congress less than 60 session days in the Senate or 60 legislative days in the House of Representatives before Congress adjourns a session sine die, then the rule is carried over to the next session of Congress and treated as if it had been submitted to Congress or published in the Federal Register on the 15th legislative day (House) or session day (Senate). This restart of the CRA process in a new session of Congress occurs even if no joint resolution of disapproval had been introduced regarding the rule during the preceding session of Congress.\nA review of the House and Senate calendars from the first session of the 100th Congress to the first session of the 110th Congress indicates that the date triggering the carryover provisions of the CRA (i.e., the date after which less than 60 legislative or session days remained in a session) has usually been determined by the House of Representatives, and that the date was almost always earlier in second sessions of Congress (during which congressional elections are held) than in first sessions. The median date after which the \u201ccarryover periods\u201d began for all sessions during this period was June 25, and the median for all second sessions was June 9. Since the CRA was enacted in March 1996, the median starting point for these carryover periods during second sessions of Congress has been somewhat earlier\u2014June 7.\nAt the conclusion of most recent presidential administrations, the volume of agency rulemaking has increased noticeably. In May 2008, the White House Chief of Staff generally required federal agencies to finalize all regulations to be issued during the Bush Administration by November 1, 2008. According to press accounts and other sources, federal agencies are planning to issue a number of significant final rules by the end of 2008. If any of these \u201cmidnight rules\u201d are submitted within the \u201ccarryover period\u201d of the second session of the 110th Congress, then they will be subject to the carryover provisions of the CRA.\nThis report will be updated to reflect changes in factual material or other developments.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
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  "topics": []
}