79–006 

111TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 111–150 

CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT IMPROVEMENT ACT 

JUNE 12, 2009.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. CONYERS, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 2247] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 2247) to amend title 5, United States Code, to make technical 

amendments to certain provisions of title 5, United States Code, 

enacted by the Congressional Review Act, having considered the 

same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 1 

Background and Need for the Legislation ............................................................. 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 4 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 4 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 4 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 4 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ...................................................... 4 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .......................................................... 5 

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 6 

Constitutional Authority Statement ...................................................................... 6 

Advisory on Earmarks ............................................................................................. 6 

Section-by-Section Analysis .................................................................................... 6 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 7 

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 2247, the ‘‘Congressional Review Act Improvement Act,’’ 

amends the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to reduce administrative burdens and duplicative paperwork by repealing the requireVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:57 Jun 13, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR150.XXX HR150

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1Pub. L. No. 104–121, subtitle E, 110 Stat. 857–74 (1996) (codified as 5 U.S.C. §§ 801–08). 

2 As used in the CRA, the term ‘‘rule’’ means ‘‘the whole or part of an agency statement of 

general . . . applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law 

or policy. . . .’’ 5 U.S.C. § 551 (2007). See also 5 U.S.C. § 804(3) (2007) (defining ‘‘rule’’ by reference to § 551, with certain exceptions). 3The CRA defines ‘‘major rule’’ as a rule that will likely have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more, increase costs or prices for consumers, industries or State and local 

governments, or have significant adverse effects on the economy. 5 U.S.C. § 804(2). Designation 

of a rule as a ‘‘major rule’’ triggers certain additional CRA requirements. See 5 U.S.C. 

§ 801(a)(2)(A) (2007) (requiring GAO to provide report on each major rule to committees of jurisdiction in each House of Congress by the end of 15 calendar days after submission or publication 

date of rule); 5 U.S.C. § 801(a)(3) (2007) (prescribing later effective date for major rules). 4 5 U.S.C. § 801(a)(1)(A) (2007). 

5 5 U.S.C. § 801(a)(1)(C) (2007). 

6Pub. L. No. 96–353 (1980). 

7Pub. L. No. 104–4 (1995). 

8 5 U.S.C. § 801(a)(1)(B) (2007). 

9 Id. 

10See 5 U.S.C. § 802 (2007) (outlining congressional disapproval procedure). 11 5 U.S.C. § 802(a) (2007). 12 5 U.S.C. § 801(f) (2007). 13 5 U.S.C. § 801(b)(2) (2007). 

ment that agencies submit copies of all final rules and reports 

thereon directly to both the House and the Senate. The bill instead 

requires that the House and Senate receive a weekly list of all final 

rules from the Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and to have such list printed in the Congressional Record with a statement of referral for each rule. The bill 

does not affect the authority of Congress under the CRA to disapprove an agency rule. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

BACKGROUND

The Congressional Review Act 1 currently requires an agency promulgating a rule 2 to submit a report containing: (1) a copy of the 

rule; (2) a concise general statement describing the rule, including 

whether it is a major rule 3; and (3) the proposed effective date of 

the rule. This report must be submitted to both Houses of Congress 

and to the GAO.4 Each House must then send a copy of the report 

to the chairman and ranking minority member of each committee 

with jurisdiction over the law under which the rule was issued.5

For major rules, in addition to submitting a report concerning 

the new rule, the promulgating agency must also submit to GAO: 

(1) a complete copy of any cost-benefit analysis; (2) a description of 

the agency’s actions pursuant to the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act 6 and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995; 7 and (3) any other relevant information required under any 

other act or executive order.8 Such information must also be made 

available to each House of Congress.9

The CRA authorizes Congress to disapprove an agency rule to 

which it objects. Congress can do so by enacting a joint resolution 

of disapproval.10 Such a resolution must be introduced within the 

specified review period of at least 60 days.11 For a joint resolution 

of disapproval to become law, it must pass both Houses of Congress 

and be signed by the President. If a joint resolution is enacted into 

law, the disapproved rule is deemed not to have had any effect at 

any time.12 Additionally, the CRA prohibits an agency from reissuing a rule that is substantially the same as a disapproved rule.13

The CRA also prescribes special expedited procedures for Senate 


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14 5 U.S.C. § 802(c) (2007). 15Morton Rosenberg, Congressional Review of Agency Rulemaking: An Update and Assessment of the Congressional Review Act After A Decade, Congressional Research Service Report 

for Congress, RL 30116, at 5 (May 8, 2008). 16 Id. 17Pub. L. No. 107–5, 115 Stat. 7. 18Moreover, this disapproval was the result of a confluence of unusual factors, including ‘‘control of both Houses of Congress and the presidency by the same party, the longstanding opposition by these political actors, as well as by broad components of the industry to be regulated, 

to the [rule at issue], and the willingness and encouragement of a President seeking to undo 

a contentious, end-of-term rule from a previous Administration.’’ Morton Rosenberg, Congressional Review of Agency Rulemaking: An Update and Assessment of the Congressional Review 

Act After A Decade, Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, RL 30116, at 12 (May 

8, 2008). 19 Id. at 5. 20Statement of John V. Sullivan, Parliamentarian, U.S. House of Representatives, Oversight 

of the Congressional Review Act: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Commercial and Administrative Law of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 110th Cong. (2007). 21 Id. 22 Id. at 3. 23 Id. 24 Id. 

consideration of a joint resolution of disapproval, though it does not 

provide for similar procedures in the House of Representatives.14

As of March 31, 2008, 47 joint resolutions of disapproval had 

been introduced relating to 35 rules.15 None of the joint resolutions 

introduced in the House have passed. Three of the Senate-originated joint resolutions passed in the Senate.16 Of the latter, the 

House passed and the President signed only one.17 In short, over 

the 13 years of the CRA’s existence, the CRA’s disapproval mechanism has yielded only one congressional disapproval.18

NEED FOR LEGISLATION

While congressional disapproval of an agency rule using the CRA 

process has been exceedingly rare, the entities tasked with implementing the CRA have borne significant administrative burdens. 

As of March 31, 2008, the GAO submitted rules and reports to Congress on 731 major rules and had cataloged 46,809 non-major 

rules.19 According to the House Parliamentarian, in the 103rd Congress—the last full Congress before the enactment of the CRA—the 

executive departments transmitted 4,135 communications to the 

Speaker of the House that warranted referral to committees.20 In 

the 109th Congress, that number rose to 10,742.21 As the Parliamentarian indicated: 

This flow of paper poses a significant increment of workload for 

a range of individuals. Although it is relatively easy to identify 

the appropriate committees of referral for the vast majority of 

these communications, the sheer volume of them affects not 

only the parliamentarians who must assess their subject matter but also the clerks who must move the paper and account 

for dates of transmittal.22

In addition, agencies must often resort to hand-delivering the required materials by courier to the House and Senate, in order to 

comply with the CRA and the standards regarding communications 

transmitted to Congress.23 Materials are frequently returned to the 

promulgating agency for failure to comply with the CRA or these 

other congressional requirements, delaying implementation of the 

rule.24

In the 110th Congress, H.R. 5593, a bill similar to H.R. 2247, 

was introduced by then-Subcommittee on Commercial and AdminVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:57 Jun 13, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR150.XXX HR150

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25 10th Anniversary of the Congressional Review Act: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Commercial and Administrative Law of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 109th Cong. 38–42 (2006) 

(statement of John V. Sullivan, Parliamentarian, U.S. House of Representatives). 26 Congressional Review Act: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Commercial and Administrative Law of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 105th Cong. 12–21 (1997) (statement of Charles 

W. Johnson III, Parliamentarian, U.S. House of Representatives). 

istrative Law Chair Linda Sa ́nchez, with Committee Chairman 

John Conyers, Jr., Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith, and 

then-Subcommittee Ranking Member Chris Cannon as original cosponsors. It passed the House June 9, 2008; the Senate, however, 

did not act on this bill before the 110th Congress adjourned. H.R. 

2247 is identical to H.R. 5593 as passed by the House in the 110th 

Congress. 

HEARINGS

The Committee held no hearings on H.R. 2247. However, the 

Committee’s Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law 

held an oversight hearing on the CRA on November 6, 2007, during 

the 110th Congress. Testimony was received from John V. Sullivan, 

Parliamentarian, House of Representatives; Morton Rosenberg, 

Specialist in American Public Law, Congressional Research Service; and Professor Sally Katzen, George Mason University School of 

Law. At that hearing, Mr. Sullivan testified about the burdens of 

implementing the CRA imposed on the Office of the Parliamentarian. Mr. Sullivan had previously testified before the Subcommittee in the 109th Congress on the same topic.25 Additionally, 

Mr. Sullivan’s predecessor, Charles W. Johnson, testified before the 

Subcommittee in the 105th Congress on the same topic.26

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On May 13, 2009, and again on May 20, 2009, the Committee 

met in open session to consider the bill, H.R. 2247, and on May 20, 

2009, ordered the bill favorably reported, without amendment, by 

voice vote, a quorum being present. 

COMMITTEE VOTES

In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there were 

no recorded votes during the Committee’s consideration of H.R. 

2247. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the findings 

and recommendations of the Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report. 

NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES

Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does not provide new 

budgetary authority or increased tax expenditures. 


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CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with respect to 

the bill, H.R. 2247, the following estimate and comparison prepared 

by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974: 

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, May 26, 2009. 

Hon. JOHN CONYERS, Jr., Chairman, 

Committee on the Judiciary, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2247, the Congressional 

Review Act Improvement Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew Pickford, who 

can be reached at 226–2860. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF, 

DIRECTOR. 

Enclosure 

cc: Honorable Lamar S. Smith. 

Ranking Member 

H.R. 2247—Congressional Review Act Improvement Act. 

H.R. 2247 would reduce reporting requirements for agencies that 

submit information to the legislative branch under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 

2247 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues. The 

bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 

defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, and tribal governments. 

Under current law, all agencies that promulgate new rules must 

submit a report to the House of Representatives, the Senate, and 

the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that contains a copy 

of the rule, a concise statement describing the rule, and its proposed effective date. H.R. 2247 would amend CRA to remove the 

requirement that agencies submit multiple copies of each new rule 

to the Congress. Instead, federal agencies would only submit rules 

and related documents to GAO, which would then provide the Congress with a weekly list. 

CBO estimates that reducing the reporting requirements under 

CRA would not have a significant impact on agencies’ budgets because they would continue to prepare the same information. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew Pickford. The 

estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 


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PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 2247 would relieve unnecessary administrative burdens and reduce duplicative 

paperwork by repealing the requirement that agencies submit all 

rules and reports directly to both the House and Senate. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for this legislation in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. 

ADVISORY ON EARMARKS

In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, H.R. 2247 does not contain any congressional 

earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 

in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of Rule XXI. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

The following discussion describes the bill as reported by the 

Committee. 

Sec. 1. Short title. Section 1 sets forth the short title of the bill 

as the ‘Congressional Review Act Improvement Act.’ 

Sec. 2. Technical Amendments to the Congressional Review Act. 

Section 2(a)(1) of the bill repeals the requirement that agencies 

submit all new rules and related reports directly to both the House 

and Senate. It designates the GAO Comptroller General as the recipient of all of these materials. Section 2(a)(1) also repeals the requirement that the House and Senate provide copies of the rules 

and reports to the Chairman and Ranking Member of each committee with responsibility for review of the rules. Congress remains 

free to require, upon request, that an agency make available the 

additional materials concerning major rules. 

Section 2(a)(2) amends subsection (e)(1) of the Congressional Review Act to require the GAO Comptroller General to submit to the 

House and Senate a weekly report listing all rules received since 

the last report was submitted. The report must include a notation 

indicating whether the rule is a major rule. Section 2(a)(2) further 

requires the House and Senate to publish in the Congressional 

Record each report received from the Comptroller General and a 

statement of referral to the committee or committees with responsibility for review of that rule. 

Section 2(b) makes various conforming changes. Section 2(b)(1) 

amends the provision in the CRA specifying when a major rule 

takes effect to specify that, assuming no resolution of disapproval 

is enacted, the rule takes effect on the date occurring 60 days after 

the date when the GAO Comptroller General receives the report or 

the rule is published in the Federal Register, or on the date the 

rule would otherwise take effect, whichever is later. Section 2(b)(2) 

provides that a non-major rule takes effect after submission to the 

Comptroller General. Section 2(b)(4) specifies that the time when 

a joint resolution of disapproval can be introduced begins when the 

report is received by the Comptroller General. 


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Section 2(c) provides that the amendments in this bill become effective 60 days after the date of enactment. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italics, 

existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE 

* * * * * * * 

PART I—THE AGENCIES GENERALLY 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 8—CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY 

RULEMAKING 

§ 801. Congressional review 

(a)(1)(A) Before a rule can take effect, the Federal agency promulgating such rule shall submit to øeach House of the Congress 

and to¿ the Comptroller General a report containing— 

(i) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(B) On the date of the submission of the report under subparagraph (A), the Federal agency promulgating the rule shall submit 

to the Comptroller General and make available to øeach House of¿ 

Congress on request— (i) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

ø(C) Upon receipt of a report submitted under subparagraph 

(A), each House shall provide copies of the report to the chairman 

and ranking member of each standing committee with jurisdiction 

under the rules of the House of Representatives or the Senate to 

report a bill to amend the provision of law under which the rule 

is issued.¿ 

* * * * * * * 

(3) A major rule relating to a report submitted under paragraph (1) shall take effect on the latest of— 

(A) the later of the date occurring 60 days after the date 

on which— 

(i) the øCongress¿ Comptroller General receives the report submitted under paragraph (1); or 

* * * * * * * 

(4) Except for a major rule, a rule shall take effect as otherwise 

provided by law after submission to øCongress¿ the Comptroller 

General under paragraph (1). 

* * * * * * * 


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(d)(1) * * * 

(2)(A) * * * 

(B) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to affect the 

requirement under subsection (a)(1) that a report shall be submitted to øCongress¿ the Comptroller General before a rule can 

take effect. 

* * * * * * * 

ø(e)(1) For purposes of this subsection, section 802 shall also 

apply to any major rule promulgated between March 1, 1996, and 

the date of the enactment of this chapter. 

ø(2) In applying section 802 for purposes of Congressional review, a rule described under paragraph (1) shall be treated as 

though— 

ø(A) such rule were published in the Federal Register on 

the date of enactment of this chapter; and 

ø(B) a report on such rule were submitted to Congress 

under subsection (a)(1) on such date. 

ø(3) The effectiveness of a rule described under paragraph (1) 

shall be as otherwise provided by law, unless the rule is made of 

no force or effect under section 802.¿ 

(e)(1) The Comptroller General shall submit to each House of 

Congress a weekly report containing a list of each rule received by 

the Comptroller General pursuant to subsection (a) since the last 

such report was submitted. The report shall include a notation for 

each such rule indicating whether or not the rule is a major rule. 

(2) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall cause to 

be published in the Congressional Record, in that portion of the 

Record relating to the proceedings of the House of Representatives, 

each report received from the Comptroller General under paragraph 

(1) since the last such publication in the House portion of the 

Record and, for each rule listed in such report, a statement of referral by the Speaker to the committee or committees of the House with 

responsibility for review of that rule. 

(3) There shall be published in the Congressional Record, in 

that portion of the Record relating to the proceedings of the Senate, 

each report received from the Comptroller General under paragraph 

(1) since the last such publication in the Senate portion of the 

Record and, for each rule listed in such report, a statement of the 

referral, if any, to the committee or committees of the Senate with 

responsibility for review of that rule. 

* * * * * * * 

§ 802. Congressional disapproval procedure 

(a) For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘joint resolution’’ 

means only a joint resolution introduced in the period beginning on 

the date on which the report referred to in section 801(a)(1)(A) is 

received by øCongress¿ the Comptroller General and ending 60 

days thereafter (excluding days either House of Congress is adjourned for more than 3 days during a session of Congress), the 

matter after the resolving clause of which is as follows: ‘‘That Congress disapproves the rule submitted by the — — relating to — —, 

and such rule shall have no force or effect.’’ (The blank spaces 

being appropriately filled in). 

(b)(1) * * * 


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(2) For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘submission or publication date’’ means the later of the date on which— 

(A) the øCongress¿ Comptroller General receives the report 

submitted under section 801(a)(1); or 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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