Biden’s regulations issued since then could be repealed if he loses

The Biden administration has reached or is rapidly approaching the deadline by which Congress could rescind federal government-wide rules under the Congressional Review Act if President Joe Biden loses his re-election bid in November.

While more than 80 CRA resolutions have been introduced in Congress to override executive branch actions, the few that actually made it to Biden’s desk faced a veto, and none of them were overturned.

However, regulations finalized this summer will likely fall under this provision, allowing Donald Trump to quickly repeal them if he is re-elected president, as his administration did repeatedly in 2017.

Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has promised to cut “unnecessary and job-killing regulations” and reinstate an executive order stipulating that for every new regulation finalized, two must be repealed. According to the Washington Post, last month at a private fundraising dinner with oil executives, the former president promised to repeal dozens of environmental regulations and halt the implementation of new ones.

The vehicle for this is the CRA, passed in 1996 after being proposed by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and House Republicans as part of the “Deal with America” ​​campaign platform. The law gives Congress the ability to repeal the regulation through a joint resolution that cannot be filibustered in the Senate.

Of note to the Biden administration is the bill’s “look back” provision, which allows Congress to examine regulations reported in the 60 days before Congress adjourned the session. With the long August recess and another scheduled for most of October for the election, the deadline has already passed — unless Congress needs to add additional legislative days to complete appropriations or other business.

However, the exact date will be decided by Congress lawmakers after the one-year adjournment of Congress.

Some outstanding regulations expected to be introduced this summer that may be subject to a look-back period include an EPA rule governing how states and tribes administer Clean Water Act programs under which dredged material is discharged into regulated waters and revised lead rules and copper for drinking water systems.

However, an earlier date could put some Biden administration environmental regulations at risk, such as the updated corporate average fuel economy standards announced on June 7.

The most effective CRA resolutions were passed after a change of party in the White House and the same party controlling both houses of Congress. The law was first used in 2001 under President George W. Bush, but not again until Trump took office.

In his first months in office, Trump signed 14 resolutions repealing regulations adopted during Barack Obama’s presidency. These included waiving parts of the Department of the Interior’s stream protection regulations and a Securities and Exchange Commission rule requiring oil, gas and mining companies to disclose payments to U.S. or foreign governments.

Although Biden and Democrats had similar control of both houses and the presidency in early 2021, Biden signed three such resolutions.

The CRA also prevents a future administration from finalizing any rules that are substantially the same unless directly permitted by law, and includes prohibitions on judicial review.

Rachel Weintraub, executive director of the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards, said CRA procedures allow Congress to act quickly with little debate on resolutions expressing disapproval of rules that “are extremely important to different constituencies.”

“I really think it’s better to discuss these issues and have more conversations in the democratic process, especially when the agency’s action has gone through extensive notice and comment and other procedures required by the rulemaking process,” Weintraub said.