Track the Latest Congressional Review Act Votes to Repeal Popular Public Protections
Track the Latest Congressional Review Act Votes to Repeal Popular Public Protections
Table Shows Which Rules Are at Risk and How Congress Voted
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the coalition of hundreds of organizations defending public protections from repeal under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) released a comprehensive table on threats to rules that make America safer, cleaner, fairer and more secure. The table shows which rules are being targeted and how Congress voted. Updated daily, the table will help members of Congress, journalists and activists track the latest CRA threats and votes.
“What the table shows is that Republicans in Congress are wasting no time in paying back corporate donors by repealing crucial and overwhelmingly popular public protections that hold corporate predators, pickpockets and polluters accountable,” said Lisa Gilbert, Public Citizen’s vice president of legislative affairs. “Americans did not ask for polluted rivers, more dangerous and dishonest workplaces, or greater corruption, but that’s exactly what we’re getting every time Republicans use the CRA to wipe out commonsense safeguards – as they have been doing again this week.”
On Monday, the U.S. Senate voted to repeal the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order – which requires federal contractors to comply with worker health and safety laws before being awarded lucrative new contracts. On Tuesday, the Senate voted to repeal the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s land use planning rule, which streamlines the land planning process and makes it far more responsive to local concerns. And today, the Senate is expected to vote to repeal the U.S. Department of Education’s teacher preparation standards. Having already passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, all three CRA resolutions could be signed by the White House at any time, repealing the targeted rules.
Prior to this week, Congress already has used the CRA to repeal three public protections. One would have stopped big oil companies from bribing governments at the expense of nearby communities. Another would have protected our streams from mining companies intent on dumping toxic chemicals into our irrigation and drinking water. And a third rule would have kept firearms out of the hands of individuals with severe mental health disabilities.
The CRA allows Congress – by majority vote in both chambers, with limited debate and no possibility of a filibuster – to wipe out rules issued in the final six months of the previous administration. It also blocks agencies from issuing rules that are “substantially similar” without express authorization from Congress. The CRA’s expedited process for repeal stands in stark contrast to the years of resource-intensive rulemaking, comment and review that went into creating the rules in the first place.
View the table and additional resources on the CRA at RulesAtRisk.org/resolutions.
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