Congress votes to require its own approval for major federal rules

What it does

This bill requires Congress to vote and approve any major federal regulation before it can take effect. A 'major rule' is defined as one affecting the economy by $100 million or more annually, significantly raising costs, or harming competition and employment. Agencies must submit detailed reports to Congress; if Congress does not pass a joint resolution approving the rule within 70 days, the rule dies. The President can delay a major rule for 90 days in emergencies, national security, or criminal enforcement. Non-major rules can be disapproved by Congress within 60 days. The bill shifts power from executive agencies to Congress over regulatory decisions.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is procedural: it inserts Congress into the approval chain for major regulations, requiring an affirmative vote before rules take effect. This is a structural shift in regulatory authority, not a substantive policy change. The bill is transparent about what it does—it does not hide a deregulatory agenda under a protective title; it openly proposes to make regulation harder by requiring congressional approval.

What the text implies

• Rules submitted near the end of a congressional session may carry over to the next Congress, resetting the 70-day clock and allowing indefinite delay without a vote.
• The 70-day approval window is measured in 'session days' and 'legislative days,' excluding recesses of more than 3 days, making the actual calendar window unpredictable and potentially much longer.
• Agencies must now publish cost-benefit analyses and economic studies before rules take effect, increasing transparency but also creating litigation risk and opportunities for opponents to challenge rules on procedural grounds.
• The Comptroller General gains new power to assess agency compliance and whether rules impose 'new limits or mandates on private-sector activity,' potentially politicizing GAO review.
• Rules exempted from the approval requirement (hunting/fishing/camping rules, good-cause exceptions) create a carve-out that may be exploited or litigated, adding uncertainty.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Citizens gain transparency and congressional accountability over major regulations, and rules that would harm them may be blocked. However, citizens also lose access to protections and benefits that agencies would have implemented—environmental, labor, consumer, and safety rules all require congressional approval, which is difficult to obtain and may never happen. The bill creates a veto gate favoring the status quo and those who benefit from absence of regulation.

Who stands to gain

• industries subject to environmental, labor, consumer protection, and financial regulations
• entities opposing new compliance costs or operational restrictions
• fossil fuel, pharmaceutical, financial services, and manufacturing sectors

Named in the bill

Congress (House and Senate), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Comptroller General, Federal agencies, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Open Market Committee

Where it stands

93 cosponsors: 93 Republicans.

• Jan 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jan 3, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Budget and House Committee on Rules · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, and the Budget, for a…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

7 lobbying clients named this bill on 8 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $3,410,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 56 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 86% of bills with at least one filing.

Kat Cammack, the sponsor, reported $775,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• National Association of Home Builders — $1,240,000 on 1 filing
• AFL-CIO — $760,000 on 1 filing
• American Federation of Teachers — $410,000 on 1 filing
• American Heart Association — $400,000 on 1 filing
• Defenders of Wildlife — $270,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.