Each week while Congress is in session, our Policy team delivers a key update to highlight a topical benefits, health, or retirement news item from the Hill, such as a newly introduced bill, a summary of a committee hearing, or another hot-button matter.
On July 10, the House Education and the Workforce Committee passed, 24-18, a Congressional Review Act (“CRA”) resolution (H.J. Res. 142) to overturn the Department of Labor’s final fiduciary rule. The resolution next heads to the House floor, where Republican control of the chamber makes it likely to pass. Whether the resolution then passes in the Senate will depend upon the votes of a small number of members. In any event, President Biden is expected to veto any final CRA resolution that passes both houses of Congress.
The CRA allows Congress to rescind regulations with a simple majority vote in both chambers for a period after a final regulation is presented to Congress. If Congress rescinds a rule using the CRA, the agency is prohibited from issuing a “substantially similar” rulemaking without further Congressional action. A CRA resolution can be vetoed by the president, and it would require a two-thirds vote in both chambers to overrule the veto. Because of that high bar, Congress has typically used the CRA when the Congressional review period carries over to the next Congress and a president from the other party takes office. More information on the CRA is available here.
