The Republican Recap: Week of December 16, 2024

Here’s a recap of what Republicans achieved on the House Floor this week:

Increasing Efficiency in Congressional Disapproval of Overreaching Rules ✅

When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution and set up our government, they separated powers between the three branches to prevent too much concentration of power in one department, vesting legislative power in Congress, executive power in the President, and judicial power in the courts. This separation created a system of checks and balances, allowing the branches to hold each other accountable and prevent any one from amassing too much power with their counteracting ambition.

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, however, federal agencies are running rampant, expanding their authority by assuming the powers of the legislative and judicial branches, in addition to their executive powers, through rulemaking. To check this overreach, the Congressional Review Act (CRA) allows Congress to disapprove of agency rules by passing a joint resolution, effectively vetoing dangerous regulations; however, currently, the CRA demands Congress pass a separate joint resolution for each rule it needs to disapprove – slowing Congress’ ability to inhibit burdensome agency rules. 

This is especially disrupting at the end of a President’s term, when agencies historically issue many more regulations than previous years, called “midnight rulemaking,” making it even more difficult for Congress to review and disapprove the agencies’ rules. It is the constitutional purview of Congress to legislate – not federal agencies. By allowing unelected bureaucrats at these agencies to make laws, the power of the American public to hold their government accountable is completely undermined. We can’t let agencies expand their power without limit.

H.R. 115, the Midnight Rules Relief Act, sponsored by Rep. Andy Biggs, amends the Congressional Review Act to allow Congress to disapprove multiple rules through one joint resolution if those rules were issued during the last year of a President’s term in office.

“The House’s passage of Midnight Rules Relief Act will make it easier for Congress to check unelected bureaucrats in the Biden-Harris Administration who have been frantically writing new federal rules before the end of their reign. The bill will help the legislature work with President Trump to restore the balance of power in the federal government. Americans demanded change—it’s time to rein in the administrative state,” said Rep. Andy Biggs. 

What Members Said: