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Featured: The Congressional Review Act

What it does

The Congressional Review Act (CRA) establishes procedures for Congress to overturn final rules issued by federal agencies. After an agency's rule is reported to Congress, members of Congress have 60 days to introduce a joint resolution disapproving of the rule. When signed into law, these resolutions of disapproval (RDs) overturn the rule in question and bar agencies from issuing a "substantially similar" rule. The CRA offers two unique mechanisms: the Senate "fast-track" procedures and the "lookback" period. For an in-depth discussion of these mechanics and more, see our Regulatory Insight A Lookback at the Law: How Congress Uses the CRA.

CRA Use Trending Upward for Both Major and Non-major Rules, 1996-2022

Line chart showing trends in the number of Congressional Review Act resolutions introduced by calendar year. The chart peaks in 2017, with 67 resolutions introduced in Congress at the beginning of the Trump administration.

CRA Window Exploratory Dashboard

This dashboard allows users to explore the set of final rules published in the Federal Register in 2024, and how various lookback dates could affect the set of rules available for congressional review at the beginning of the next session of Congress. View Dashboard.

Commentary:

The Continued Evolution of the Congressional Review Act. Susan Dudley & Steve Balla, April 22, 2026. Previously considered largely a tool for the incoming Congress and president to overturn a departing president's midnight regulations, Congress has recently begun using the CRA in unanticipated ways.

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Our Latest Publications

Cumulative Economically Significant Final Rules by Administration

Cumulative Econ Significant Rules Over Entire 02/2026

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Regulators' Budget: Overall Spending and Staffing Remain Stable

July 28, 2020

This report is a joint effort of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis and the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center in Washington, DC. This report is one in a series designed to enhance the understanding of the impact of federal regulation on society and does not represent an official position of either the George Washington University or Washington University in St. Louis.

Regulatory Impact Analysis for Financial Regulations

July 21, 2020

The Durability of Regulatory Oversight

July 20, 2020

This article reflects on OIRA's evolution over the almost 40 years since the Paperwork Reduction Act created it in 1980 to understand what has made it so durable. It finds that regardless of their philosophy, presidents need an entity like OIRA to address the principal‐agent problem they face in managing the disparate agencies within the executive branch.

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