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Standard Summary
Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs
The Reclaim the Reins Act would vastly expand Congress’s control over federal rulemaking by amending Chapter 8 of title 5 of the United States Code. It creates new reporting requirements for agency rules, expands Congress’s ability to approve or disapprove rules that raise revenue, and establishes a process for ongoing and retrospective review of rules. The bill also authorizes specific funding for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Comptroller General (GAO) to carry out these duties and requires a GAO study on the overall rule landscape. In short, it aims to slow and constrain agency rulemaking by increasing congressional oversight, tying major revenue-raising rules to a joint resolution of approval, and instituting annual reviews of existing rules.
Key Points
- 1Additional reporting requirements for rules: When agencies submit a rule for review, the agency must include budgetary effects, direct and indirect costs, job impacts by NAICS industry and sector, whether the rule is major or nonmajor, data and analyses used, related regulatory actions, inflation impact, and the constitutional authority for the rule.
- 2Major revenue-raising rules require congressional approval: A major rule that increases revenue cannot take effect unless Congress enacts a joint resolution of approval. If a joint resolution is not enacted within a defined window (60 session days/legislative days after the report is received), the rule does not take effect.
- 3New and extended review procedures: The bill adds a new Section 809 (additional reporting) and Section 810 (approval process for major rules), plus Section 811 (additional review in certain circumstances) and Section 812 (annual review of rules currently in effect, with a process to sunset rules not approved).
- 4Annual review of existing rules: Beginning six months after enactment and continuing for four years, agencies must select at least 20% of eligible rules each year for review and apply the new review framework to them. If not approved within specified timeframes, those rules may have no effect; after five years, rules not approved may sunset.
- 5Sunset and consolidation mechanics: A single joint resolution can cover all rules designated for a given year; options exist for separate resolutions for specific rules if desired.
- 6Scope of what counts as a rule: The definition of "rule" includes interpretive rules, general statements of policy, and guidance documents, but excludes rules of particular applicability, agency management or personnel rules, and procedural/organizational rules that do not substantially affect nonagency rights or obligations.
- 7Funding and study provisions: The bill authorizes $10 million for the OMB and $10 million for the GAO for fiscal year 2025 to implement these provisions, available through 2034, and requires a GAO study to inventory rules and assess total costs, with a report due within one year.
Impact Areas
Primary group/area affected: Federal agencies and their rulemaking processes. Agencies would face enhanced reporting requirements, a new hurdle for major revenue-raising rules, and the possibility that rules could be blocked or delayed by Congress.Secondary group/area affected: Congress, including the Executive Office of the President, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Comptroller General (GAO) plus the Congressional Budget Office (in consultation). Regulatory practitioners, public policy analysts, and stakeholders in regulated industries would experience changes in how rules are developed, justified, and enacted.Additional impacts: Potential impacts on timelines for rulemaking, costs of compliance with expanded reporting, and the overall pace of regulatory change. The bill could shift leverage toward Congress in regulatory policy, increase the importance of economic analyses and data transparency in rulemaking, and introduce more formalized congressional risk of rules not taking effect if not approved. There is also a potential for judicial considerations around whether the approval process has been properly followed and how it interacts with existing court review.
Generated by gpt-5-nano on Nov 18, 2025