News: House Republican leadership plans to target 10 Biden-era regulations using the Congressional Review Act in the coming weeks, looking to unravel rulemaking on a broad swath of topics that impact a wide range of industries.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who controls the legislative agenda and is spearheading the CRA push, said he’s been coordinating with Senate Majority Leader John Thune to ensure Republicans choose the best rules to target for overturning.
Reminder: CRAs allow Congress to overturn rules promulgated by the executive branch within 60 days of the rule being published in the Federal Register.
“President Trump got to sign 16 into law in his first term, and he knows how powerful they were, because Joe Biden was not able to reverse any of those,” Scalise said in an interview.
Here’s the list of CRAs that the House Republican leadership is planning to put on the floor:
1) The California Clean Air Act Waiver. Congress gave California a waiver to impose stricter emissions standards than those laid out in federal law. Republicans say this drives up costs for consumers and complicates the regulatory climate.
2) Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 put into place a “waste emission charge” on methane waste from oil and gas facilities. Republicans say this drives up prices for consumers. This is expected on the floor next week.
3) Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters. This rule tightens conservation standards for gas-fired instantaneous water heaters. This is also expected on the floor next week.
4) General-Use Digital Consumer Payment Applications. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized this rule in November to expand the agency’s supervision to “larger participants” in payment apps.
5) Digital Asset Sale. The IRS published a rule this summer for reporting the profits of crypto transactions for tax purposes.
6) Energy Conservation-Appliance Standards, Certification and Labeling. This rule adds new labeling standards for the Energy Department’s conservation standards.
7) OCSLA Oil and Gas Sulfur Operations: High Pressure, High Temperature. This Interior regulation tightens standards on offshore drilling equipment.
8) NESHAP for Rubber Tire Manufacturing. This rule creates new standards for rubber tires and is aimed at limiting dangerous chemicals.
9) Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources. This requires oil and gas operators and lessees to provide an archeological report for exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf.
10) Commission Guidance Regarding the Listing of Voluntary Carbon Credit Derivative Contracts. This creates a standardized marketplace to buy and sell carbon credits.
So as you can tell, there’s a lot here related to the energy industry, which is a priority of Scalise and Speaker Mike Johnson. And, as always, some of these CRA votes could put Democrats in a tough spot, Republicans say.
