The Midnight Rule Relief Act (RRMA) would amend the CRA in two ways. First, it would allow Congress to introduce a joint resolution of disapproval covering several rules. Currently, the CRA requires Congress to submit separate joint resolutions for each rule it disapproves of. Second, the bill would amend the CRA by allowing Congress to introduce a joint resolution disapproving any rule submitted to Congress during the last year of a president`s term. This would significantly expand Congress` ability to overturn agency actions. As stated by the House Judiciary Committee on 14. According to September 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives will this week discuss a bill to limit rule-making to midnight and strengthen the Trump administration`s ability to roll back last-minute regulations passed by the Obama administration. The Midnight Rules Relief Act of 2016, H.R. 5982, would amend the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to allow Congress to consider a joint resolution approving several regulations submitted by federal agencies for congressional review in the last 60 days of a session of Congress during the last year of a president`s term. Earlier this year, the U.S.
House of Representatives voted 238-184 in favor of the Midnight Rules Relief Act. The Republican-backed move would amend the Congressional Review Act and allow Congress to repeal en masse any federal executive order issued during the last year of a president`s term. If approved by the Senate and signed into law, the bill could have far-reaching implications for any regulations passed in 2016, including the record-keeping rule enacted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and related anti-retaliation provisions. After all, the Congressional Review Act (CRA) already allows Congress to reject rules on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, there is no need for arbitrary packaging of voting rules for or against, as this bill does. In addition, the bill would expand the scope of the rules subject to the CRA so that by the time of a vote on a resolution, some of the rules could have been in place for more than a year. In this way, H.R. 5982 would create enormous regulatory uncertainty, potentially impose additional costs on business, and represent a step backwards in applying sound regulatory principles to protect public health, safety, the environment and other critical aspects of society. The midnight rules are new regulatory issues as presidential administrations come to an end.
Governments of both parties have seen improvements in regulatory performance during the midnight period for decades. Congress may not be able to review regulatory abuses in a government`s final months or weeks, in part because of its inability to consider more than one disapproval of one regulation at a time. According to the sponsor of the bill: “Speakers of both parties have become accustomed to using midnight rules to squeeze through the few remaining parts of their agenda just before the time runs out. Our bill will rein in outgoing governments by ensuring that new regulations are subject to scrutiny by Congress and the American people. Many of these new rules and regulations are very costly for small businesses and our job creators. We must ensure that these rules are not hastily put in place to respond to a partisan political agenda and that the elected representatives of the people have the opportunity to scrutinize them. [2] Currently, Congress has the power to review and strike down rules passed by government agencies through the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The CRA was signed into law in 1996 and gives Congress the power to review and repeal new federal regulations of government agencies. It requires federal agencies to submit a report with a copy of a proposed rule to both houses of Congress and the comptroller general before the rule can take effect. Barack Obama, Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 5982 – Midnight Rules Relief Act of 2016 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T.
Woolley, The American Presidency Project www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/319783 According to the Congressional Research Service, federal agencies issued 63 key rules in the last six months of 2008, up from 41 in 2007. Similarly, the agencies adopted 52 important rules in 2000, compared with 30 in the same period the previous year. The Obama administration currently has 91 major final rules in the process of interagency authorization — the final step required before issuing a major final rule on the federal register. The new Trump administration has a limited number of administrative tools to stop midnight regulations. Previous presidents have imposed a moratorium on new regulations of executive branches and independent agencies, using an administrative memorandum like the Andrew Card memo in the Bush administration to control regulations at the last minute. These moratoriums may be accompanied by requests to federal organizations to extend the effective date of the final published regulations. The Trump administration may also voluntarily withdraw any proposed rule that was not published in the Federal Register as final rules before the former president left office. OSHA`s registration regulations and whistleblower provisions, published on May 12, 2016, would be included in this collection of at least 3,853 rules and regulations that could be declared invalid. OSHA`s rule significantly increases the collection of injury and illness data by requiring employers to submit workplace injury information electronically to the government, with OSHA publishing that data on its public website.
It also changes the circumstances in which you can require your employees to be tested for drugs after an accident and requires additional changes to an employer`s typical workplace safety policies and practices. ——————— [1] See House Report 114-782, pp. 2-3. [2] See Representative Issa`s press release of 9 September. 2016 On Thursday, November 17, 2016, the House of Representatives will begin its consideration of H.R. 5982, the Midnight Rules Relief Act 2016, under a structured rule. The bill was introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) on September 9, 2016 and referred to the Judiciary Committee in addition to the Rules Committee.
The Judiciary Committee ordered the bill on September 14, 2065 by a vote of 15 to 5. In recent presidential administrations, federal agencies have increased the number of orders they issue in the final months of their term. This phenomenon is often referred to as the “midnight rule” as an outgoing government tries to complete its work and achieve its political objectives before the end of its mandate. Because it can be difficult to change or eliminate rules after they go into effect, the midnight rules help cement a president`s legacy and limit the actions of new administrations. Congress may consider issuing proposed and final ordinances at the end of a government and use its legislative power to repeal or amend an ordinance. To repeal or amend an ordinance, Congress may use one of the following instruments: Appropriation endorsements that prohibit the use of funds to enforce an ordinance will also be an attractive option as they are included in “must pass” legislation to fund the government. However, these tabs are less attractive than CRA resolutions because they are only binding for the fiscal year covered by the expense account. As the adoption of legislation could have an impact on direct expenditure and revenue, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. H.R. 5982 would amend the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to allow for the rejection of several regulations issued by a president during his or her final year in office. Under current law, Congress can only use the CRA to reject one regulation at a time.
According to the committee, regulations passed during this period are usually rushed and poorly scrutinized by authorities, resulting in high costs to taxpayers and thwarting the will of voters who have just elected a new Congress or president. [1] Congress may introduce a joint resolution to disapprove the rule if it does so within 60 legislative days. If the president signs the resolution of disapproval of Congress or if Congress passes the joint resolution on the president`s veto, the rule becomes invalid. The CRA has its greatest impact during the lame duck between presidential administrations, as it allows the new government to repeal last-minute regulatory measures taken by an outgoing executive. The administration is committed to ensuring that regulations are smart and effective, are tailored to the most cost-effective and efficient regulatory objectives, and minimize uncertainty. When a federal agency issues an order, it must comply with the robust and well-understood procedural requirements of federal law, including the Administrative Procedure Act, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act, the Red Tape Reduction Act, and the Congressional Review Act. to ensure that the rule-making process is transparent and takes into account feedback from stakeholders.