Congress is wielding the Congressional Review Act as a sledgehammer against Biden’s last-minute environmental regulations, dismantling everything from gas water heater standards to methane emission fees in a sweeping effort to undo what Republicans call regulatory overreach.
Key Takeaways
- Congress has passed multiple resolutions using the Congressional Review Act to overturn Biden administration environmental regulations, with some receiving bipartisan support.
- The CRA allows Congress to repeal regulations finalized in the final months of a presidential term with a simple majority vote and cannot be filibustered in the Senate.
- Key targets include energy efficiency standards for water heaters, methane emission fees from the Inflation Reduction Act, and archaeological survey requirements for offshore drilling.
- If successful, these overturned regulations cannot be reissued in substantially the same form without new congressional authorization.
- Over 1,300 Biden-era rules could technically be subject to CRA disapproval, though time constraints limit how many can be addressed.
Republicans Lead Charge to Dismantle Biden’s Regulatory Legacy
The Republican-led Congress has launched an aggressive campaign to roll back numerous environmental regulations issued during the final months of the Biden administration. Using the powerful but rarely used Congressional Review Act (CRA), lawmakers have already passed multiple resolutions targeting specific rules they view as government overreach.
The House of Representatives passed resolutions to repeal energy conservation standards for gas-fired water heaters and EPA regulations on methane emissions charges, with several Democrats crossing party lines to support these measures. Similarly, the Senate approved a resolution to eliminate requirements for archaeological surveys before offshore oil and gas drilling.
Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell described the election results as delivering a “crystal clear mandate” to “hit the brakes on runaway regulation” from the Biden administration. His comments reflect the broader Republican strategy to use the CRA as a primary tool for dismantling what they perceive as excessive regulatory burdens imposed during Biden’s term.
How the Congressional Review Act Empowers the New Majority
The Congressional Review Act provides a streamlined process for overturning recently finalized federal regulations. Enacted in 1996, the CRA requires federal agencies to report new rules to Congress, after which lawmakers have 60 legislative days to introduce a joint resolution of disapproval. What makes the CRA particularly powerful is that these resolutions cannot be filibustered in the Senate, requiring only a simple majority for passage.
If both chambers pass the resolution and the president signs it, or if Congress overrides a presidential veto, the targeted regulation is nullified and cannot take effect. Moreover, the agency is prohibited from issuing a substantially similar rule in the future without express congressional authorization.
“Congress was very eager to use this tool,” explained Sarah Hay, policy expert on congressional regulatory oversight. “That model was not a good model,” said Shawn Joy, referring to the rushed regulatory process used by the Biden administration in its final months.
The CRA has been used to overturn 20 rules since its enactment, with 16 of those occurring during the first year of the Trump administration. The current Congress is on track to add significantly to that total, with lawmakers already identifying numerous Biden regulations for potential reversal. While over 1,300 rules could technically be subject to CRA disapproval, practical constraints on legislative time will limit how many can actually be addressed.
High-Profile Environmental Regulations in the Crosshairs
Among the most controversial targets is the Department of Energy’s efficiency standards for gas-fired tankless water heaters. Senator Ted Cruz, leading the opposition to these standards, argued the regulation “forces American families to choose between costly, high-end models or less efficient alternatives.” The House resolution to overturn this rule passed with the support of 11 Democrats joining Republicans, indicating some bipartisan concern about the economic impact of certain Biden-era environmental policies. Similarly, the EPA’s implementation of methane emission fees, a key component of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act was just overturned by Congress on 2/26/25.
The Biden administration, anticipating potential reversals under the CRA, attempted to finalize many rules early in 2024 to avoid congressional review. However, numerous regulations still fall within the review window. Beyond the rules already targeted, other vulnerable regulations include additional appliance efficiency standards, hydrofluorocarbon leak reduction requirements, and a ban on trichloroethylene.
Some congressional Republicans are also promoting the Midnight Rules Relief Act, which would expand the CRA to allow disapproval of multiple regulations under a single resolution, potentially amplifying congressional oversight over regulatory actions.
Bipartisan Support Signals Broader Concerns
While Republican lawmakers are leading the charge to overturn Biden-era regulations, the presence of Democratic votes on several CRA resolutions indicates broader concerns about regulatory overreach. Six Democrats joined Republicans in the House vote to repeal EPA’s methane emissions charges, while eleven crossed party lines on the water heater efficiency standards resolution.
This bipartisan skepticism about certain environmental regulations suggests that some of the Biden administration’s late-term regulatory actions went beyond what centrist Democrats are comfortable supporting, particularly regarding rules that could increase costs for consumers or hamper domestic energy production.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) summed up the Republican strategy, stating they intended to scrutinize “anything that the [Biden] administration has done in the last days of” its term.
