Homepage featured content

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

Image
CRA Window Exploratory Dashboard - screen grab


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.

Explore Our Coverage


Our Latest Publications

 

Cumulative Economically Significant Final Rules by Administration

Image
Cumulative Econ Significant Rules Over Entire 02/2026

View All Charts

 

FAA's Proposed Rule: Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems

The FAA suggests that this rule will be the first step in a long, complex path of integrating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System. However, it will be a challenge for the Administration to ensure that this incremental approach occurs at a pace that closely mirrors market and technological changes.

Vague Net Neutrality Rule Impedes Innovation

FCC's recent order imposing common carrier and net neutrality obligations on broadband Internet access providers creates a complex new regulatory structure.

DOL's Proposed Rule: Discrimination on the Basis of Sex

The DOL Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) enforces Executive Order 11,246 (Executive Order), a 1965 order that prohibits Federal contractors and subcontractors and federally assisted construction contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin and requires them to take affirmative action to prevent discrimination based on these protected categories.

View All Publications >>