What is the Congressional Review Act?

What is the Congressional Review Act?

The Congressional Review Act (CRA) was passed in 1996 as part of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. It gives Congress a window to review rules and regulations issued by federal agencies and block or modify those rules–giving Congress greater oversight of federal regulations.

How does it work?

When a federal agency (like the Environmental Protection Agency) creates a new rule, it submits the rule to both houses of Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) before it can take effect. Once the rule is submitted, Congress has 60 days to introduce a joint resolution disapproving of an agency’s final rule.  

If a joint resolution of disapproval is brought forward, only a simple majority in the House of Representatives and Senate is needed for the resolution to pass. A joint resolution that passes is then handed off to the President for their signature, which will officially invalidate the rule and prevent it from taking effect.

Since passing in 1996, the CRA has been used to overturn 20 agency rules. Sixteen of those uses of the CRA were done during Trump’s first presidency.

Why is this important?

Any rollbacks to rules through the CRA not only undo the existing rule, but also prohibit any future action on the issue. This means that rules “substantially similar” can never be reissued by a federal agency, unless explicitly authorized by Congress.

In early March, House Republicans planned to use the CRA to undo California’s landmark Clean Car EPA Waivers and force us to loosen our emission standards. This would prevent California from imposing state-level regulations that are more comprehensive than the low standards of the federal government.

This is outside the scope of the CRA, which is limited only to rules created by federal agencies. In 2023, the GAO made the decision to treat Clean Air Act waivers like California’s as orders, not rules—but House Republicans pushed forward anyway.

Once again in March 2025, the GAO reaffirmed that California’s Clean Car Waivers can’t be undone by Congressional Review—which is a huge win, especially as the EPA’s federal power of enforcement is diminishing after a series of rulings by the Supreme Court (including the recent ruling about water pollution).

Trump tried many times to take these rights away during his last presidency, but we fought back every step of the way to uphold our clean air regulations. We’re celebrating the GAO’s decision on California’s Clean Car Waivers, but we know the struggle for clean air in California is far from over. Trump has a record of ignoring legal precedent to get what he wants, and there’s still a chance his administration will try to push back against our regulations in Congress or in court. 

What’s happening today?

On May 22, 2025, the Senate voted to revoke California’s Clean Cars II Waiver—one of the biggest clean air and public health victories in the past decade—through improper use of the Congressional Review Act.

This isn’t about policy, it’s about punishment. Senate Republicans launched a direct assault on California’s public health, state rights, and the clean air we breathe. Eleven other states (that make up 40% of Americans) intended to follow our Clean Cars II guidelines and stop selling new gas-powered cars by 2035. Because the Senate did this through Congressional Review, similar laws are permanently blocked unless this action is overturned by the Supreme Court. And if the courts don’t stand by the law, we’ve lost a powerful tool in our clean energy transition for good.

This was a difficult blow, but the fight is far from over. Senators Padilla and Schiff showed unwavering leadership on the floor of the Senate as they worked to defend our progress and clean air last night, and now California’s leadership is rising up to meet the moment. Governor Newsom recently committed to joining a coalition of 11 other states to prioritize the switch to clean cars. Attorney General Bonta has announced a plan to fight back in court and hold the line against this attack. And state legislators are drafting bills right now to give California a pathway for similar emissions regulations that won’t need federal approval.

We’re holding the line against this attack from House Republicans and defending California’s right to self-regulation. Will you join the California Defiance Alliance today and help us fight the big fights to make lasting change?