To amend chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, to provide that major rules of the executive branch shall have no force or effect unless a joint resolution of approval is enacted into law.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill (the REINS Act) requires that all major federal regulations must receive explicit Congressional approval through a joint resolution before taking effect. A 'major rule' is defined as any regulation with an annual economic impact of $100 million or more, major cost increases, or significant effects on competition or employment. Without Congressional approval within 70 session days, major rules cannot take effect.
Who Benefits and How
Regulated industries (businesses, manufacturers, energy companies, financial institutions) benefit significantly because any new major regulation requires affirmative Congressional action, making it harder to impose new regulatory requirements. The bill shifts power from regulatory agencies to Congress, where industry lobbying has traditionally been more effective. Small businesses benefit from reduced regulatory uncertainty. Congress gains explicit veto power over major executive branch rules.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal regulatory agencies face dramatically increased procedural requirements, must submit detailed cost-benefit analyses to Congress, and lose the ability to implement major rules without explicit legislative approval. Environmental, health, and safety advocates face higher barriers to new protective regulations. The Government Accountability Office must produce reports on every major rule within 15 days. The public may face delays in consumer and environmental protections.
Key Provisions
- Major rules (over $100M annual impact) require joint resolution of approval from Congress to take effect
- Congress has 70 session days to vote on approval; no vote means rule fails
- Nonmajor rules can be disapproved through Congressional resolution but take effect without approval
- Agencies must publish data and cost-benefit analyses supporting rules in Federal Register
- GAO must assess compliance and economic impacts of each major rule
- Exempts Federal Reserve monetary policy rules
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires Congressional approval for major federal agency rules (those with $100M+ annual economic impact) to take effect, fundamentally shifting regulatory authority from executive agencies to Congress through the REINS Act framework.
Key Policy Areas
Regulatory Reform, Congressional Oversight, Administrative Law, Separation of Powers
Primary Purpose
Requires Congressional approval for major federal agency rules (those with $100M+ annual economic impact) to take effect, fundamentally shifting regulatory authority from executive agencies to Congress through the REINS Act framework.
Policy Domains
REINS Act - Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Regulated industries (all sectors)
- Business associations
- Fossil fuel companies
- Financial services industry
- Manufacturing industry
- Congress (institutional power)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Federal regulatory agencies
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- OSHA
- Government Accountability Office
- Environmental and public health advocates
- Labor unions
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Paul (for himself, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Lee, Mr. Johnson, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Agencies issuing emergency nonmajor rules, Congress (institutional power), Congressional leadership
Positive-direction: Agencies issuing emergency nonmajor rules, Congress (institutional power), Federal Open Market Committee, Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Fish and Wildlife Service
Negative-direction: Congressional leadership, Courts (restricted jurisdiction), Executive regulatory agencies, Federal regulatory agencies, Government Accountability Office, OIRA (classifies rules as major/nonmajor), Regulatory agencies seeking to implement major rules
Industries seeking to block new regulations, Industries subject to $100M+ regulations, Industries subject to new major regulations
Parties challenging Congressional review procedures, Parties challenging rule substance
Financial markets (stability from exemption)
Hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation industries
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "federal_agency"
- → Any federal agency promulgating rules
- "oira_administrator"
- → Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OMB)
- "comptroller_general"
- → Comptroller General of the United States (GAO)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
As defined in section 551, excluding rules of particular applicability, agency management/personnel rules, and agency procedure rules not substantially affecting non-agency parties
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology