The Congressional Review Act (CRA): A Brief Overview (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised Aug. 29, 2024 |
| Report Number |
IF10023 |
| Report Type |
In Focus |
| Authors |
Maeve P. Carey, Christopher M. Davis |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
What is the CRA? The CRA (codified at 5 U.S.C. §§801-
808) is a tool Congress can use to overturn certain federal
agency actions. The CRA was enacted as part of the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act in 1996.
The CRA requires agencies to report the issuance of “rules”
to Congress and provides Congress with special procedures,
in the form of a joint resolution of disapproval, under which
to consider legislation to overturn rules. If a CRA joint
resolution of disapproval is approved by both houses of
Congress and signed by the President, or if Congress
successfully overrides a presidential veto, the rule at issue
cannot go into effect or continue in effect.
What is a rule under the CRA? The CRA adopts the
broadest definition of rule contained in the Administrative
Procedure Act (APA), with three exceptions.
The CRA applies to final rules, including major rules, nonmajor rules, and interim final rules. Additionally, the
definition is sufficiently broad that it may include agency
actions that are not subject to traditional notice-andcomment rulemaking, such as guidance documents and
policy memoranda. The CRA does not apply to presidential
actions or to non-rule agency actions such as orders.
How many rules have been overturned using the CRA?
The CRA has been used to overturn a total of 20 rules: one
in the 107th Congress (2001-2002), 16 in the 115th Congress
(2017-2018), and three in the 117th Congress (2021-2022).
