Issue Brief 16-60
December 20, 2016
Summary 

The 115th Congress will convene on January 3, 2017. The new Congress will have an opportunity to employ a little-used provision in the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that allows for disapproval of recent agency rules under limited debate in the Senate—a potentially powerful tool for undoing the actions of an outgoing administration.

This Issue Brief summarizes the CRA’s disapproval provision, and lists major rules of interest to states that Congress could undo in 2017, including the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) implementation rules, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) assessment regulations, Child Care and Development Fund regulations, Head Start performance standards, and numerous Medicaid provisions.