Midnight Rules Relief Act
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The bill would let Congress bundle multiple late-term "midnight rules" into a single joint resolution of disapproval, instead of requiring a separate resolution for each regulation.
Because the Congressional Review Act currently allows only one rule per disapproval resolution, this change would make it procedurally easier for a new Congress and president to sweep aside a batch of regulations issued near the end of the prior administration's term.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend the Congressional Review Act (chapter 8 of title 5, U.S. Code) to allow a single joint resolution of disapproval to cover more than one federal regulation, but only for rules submitted for congressional review during the final year of a president's term — so-called "midnight rules." It would also prescribe the specific resolving-clause language such a combined resolution must use, listing each rule and the agency that issued it.
The bill does not disapprove any specific regulation itself; it only changes the procedural mechanism available to Congress. It leaves untouched the rest of the Congressional Review Act, including the existing 60-legislative-day lookback period and the process for regulations submitted outside a president's final year, which would still require separate resolutions.
Key provisions
- 1Would allow a joint resolution of disapproval to cover one or more regulations if each was submitted for review during the final year of a president's term
- 2Would set the required resolving-clause text for a combined resolution, listing each rule and the agency that submitted it
Who would be affected
Federal agencies that issue regulations late in a president's term, members of Congress considering disapproval resolutions, and, indirectly, anyone affected by regulations that could be overturned more easily under a combined resolution — including businesses, states, and individuals subject to those rules.
Why it matters
By letting lawmakers challenge several late-term regulations at once rather than one at a time, the bill would make it procedurally easier and faster for an incoming Congress and president to roll back a predecessor's final-year rules, potentially affecting the durability of regulations issued near the end of any administration.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends 5 U.S.C. § 801(d) (Sec. 2(a))
Adds a new paragraph allowing one joint resolution of disapproval to include multiple midnight rules submitted in a president's final year
Amends 5 U.S.C. § 802(a) (Sec. 2(b))
Prescribes the resolving-clause wording to use when a resolution disapproves multiple rules under section 801(d)(4)
How implementation would work
Once enacted, the new procedure would apply the next time a rule submitted during a president's final year is reviewed under the Congressional Review Act. Members introducing a joint resolution of disapproval covering multiple such rules would have to use the prescribed resolving-clause format, filling in the agency and subject of each rule. No new agency rulemaking, reporting, or enforcement structure is created; the change operates entirely within existing congressional disapproval procedures.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Official CRS summary
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This bill allows Congress to disapprove multiple regulations under one joint resolution of disapproval if the regulations were submitted for review during a portion of the final year of a President's term.
Under current law, the Congressional Review Act generally provides for a period of additional review during the succeeding Congress for regulations that were submitted during the last 60 legislative days of the prior Congress. However, each joint resolution may disapprove of only one regulation.
Legislative subjects
Administrative law and regulatory procedures; Congressional oversight; Government Operations and Politics; Legislative rules and procedure; Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents