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1 1 (December 1, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govejoj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional aResearch Service The 118th Congress and the Congressional Review Act Lookback Mechanism December 1, 2022 With a change in party majority taking place in the House of Representatives in the 118th Congress (2023- 2024), there has been renewed interest by some lawmakers in a provision of the Congressional Review Act (CRA, 5 U.S.C. §§801-808) commonly known as the CRA lookback mechanism. This provision of the act allows, for a limited time, a new Congress to access special fast track parliamentary procedures to consider a joint resolution disapproving an agency rule submitted late in the previous session of Congress. The CRA lookback mechanism potentially offers a brief period at the beginning of the 118th Congress where the House may be able to pass and send to the Senate for its consideration, under expedited parliamentary procedures, a joint resolution disapproving a rule issued by the Biden Administration late in 2022. A joint resolution would have to become law-that is, be signed by the President or enacted over his veto-to invalidate a rule. The CRA, enacted as part of the 104th Congress's (1995-1996) Contract with America, established a special parliamentary mechanism whereby Congress can, by enacting a joint resolution into law, disapprove a rule promulgated by a federal agency. Whenever a rule is finalized and submitted to Congress under the CRA, it is subject to an overall period of congressional review, lasting approximately 60 days of Senate session, where fast track parliamentary procedures are available, primarily in the Senate, to consider a joint resolution invalidating the rule. If a rule is submitted to Congress so late in the year, however, that the final adjournment of the session prevents either chamber from enjoying this full 60-day review period, that CRA review period-and its associated fast track parliamentary procedures-occur again in their entirety in the next session of Congress. This mechanism is called the CRA lookback mechanism. Specifically, Section 801(d) of the CRA provides that, if a rule is submitted to Congress with either fewer than 60 days of session in the Senate or fewer than 60 legislative days in the House of Representatives before Congress adjourns a session sine die, a new period for congressional review of that rule becomes available in the next session. For this purpose, a rule is treated as if it had been submitted to Congress and published in the Federal Register on the 15th legislative day (House) or 15th session day (Senate) of the new session for purposes of starting the renewed review periods. The lookback mechanism is intended to ensure that an Administration cannot deny Congress the full periods for review and action on rules Congressional Research Service https://crsreports. congress.gov IN12056 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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