Huizenga leads historic effort to use Congressional Review Act to repeal federal regulation

President Donald Trump signed legislation into law on Wednesday in which U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) used the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal a regulation handed down by the Obama administration for the first time.

The CRA enables Congress to review recently issued federal regulations and permanently repeal them with congressional approval of a joint resolution and the signature by the president. According to the American Action Forum, this is only the second time in history a CRA was signed into law. The first successful CRA was signed by President George W. Bush in 2001 and rescinded an ergonomics rule from the Department of Labor.

Huizenga used the CRA to repeal a rule that the SEC was directed to draft regarding the disclosure of payments by publicly traded American energy companies under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. The rule puts American companies operating in the United States and abroad at a competitive disadvantage relative to foreign companies by requiring them to disclose confidential business information relating to the negotiation of business contracts.

“In order to get our economy growing, we need to reset our nation’s arcane regulatory process,” Huizenga said. “I am honored to have authored one of the first bills signed into law to do precisely that. H.J. Res. 41 removes a burdensome regulation that puts U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage on the global stage. Additionally, this legislation instructs the SEC to go back to the drawing board and create a rule that doesn’t negatively impact American job creators and American workers.”

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said Wednesday marked “the first time of many” that CRA bills would be signed by Trump to rollback regulations that put American oil and natural gas companies at a global disadvantage.

“Congressional Review Act legislation provides relief for Americans hurt by regulations rushed through at the last minute by the Obama administration,” Ryan said. “This means freeing up American entrepreneurs, creating jobs, and jump-starting our economy. The House continues to take up Congressional Review Act initiatives this week.”

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said the House would continue to work to overturn harmful regulations that were finalized in the last months of the Obama administration.

“I am happy the president signed this resolution into law to help put American businesses on equal footing with their foreign competitors, and I look forward to President Trump signing even more such resolutions in the coming weeks,” McCarthy said. “In the meantime, the House will pass more CRAs this week, and we look forward to continuing to work with the President to clean up the regulatory mess in Washington.”

U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) applauded Trump’s signing of H.J. Res. 41 as a win for workers, families and businesses.

“President Obama’s burdensome Dodd-Frank financial rules have held our economy back since the bill was passed,” Duffy said. “That’s why it’s encouraging that we are able to partner with President Trump to stop a rule that could have cost companies over $590 million. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress and President Trump to help lift the burden of Washington regulations off of America’s workers, families, and businesses.”