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.
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.
From Beginning to End: An Examination of Agencies' Early Public Engagement and Retrospective Review
My testimony reviews the problems necessitating the practices required by your legislation and addresses and examines each bill’s requirements and impacts. It concludes with some crosscutting comments and observations.
DOE's Energy Conservation Program for Appliance Standards
In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), DOE is proposing to “update and modernize the Department’s current rulemaking methodology titled, ‘Procedures, Interpretations, and Policies for Consideration of New or Revised Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Products’ (‘Process Rule’).”
Early but Not Often: A Look into the Use of ANPRMs in Rulemaking
Agencies can use an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to engage the public early in the rulemaking process before a rule change is in motion.
