The BLOCK Act would add a sweeping, congressional-review framework to most federal agency rules. It creates a formal threshold: any rule that is expected to impose at least $50 million annually in compliance costs is treated as a major rule and must receive a joint resolution of approval from both chambers of Congress before it can take effect. Major rules require a specific congressional approval process (a joint resolution of approval) and a timely GAO review, with failure to approve in time resulting in the rule not taking effect. Nonmajor rules (those below the $50 million threshold) must rely on a separate congressional disapproval process. The bill also requires agencies to disclose data, studies, and cost-benefit analyses, and it imposes periodic review of existing rules, with a sunset if Congress has not approved them within specified time frames. There are exemptions (notably monetary policy) and special provisions related to the timing and scope of rule-making, as well as treatment of rules currently in effect and a budgeting provision tying rules to budgetary effects. In short, BLOCK shifts substantial regulatory control from agencies to Congress, creating formal, time-bound hurdles for major rules and giving Congress a path to disapprove or approve many rules before they can take effect.
Key Points
- 1Major vs. nonmajor rules:
- 2- Major rule: a rule with an annual compliance cost of at least $50,000,000, as determined by the Comptroller General (GAO).
- 3- Nonmajor rule: any rule that does not meet the major-rule threshold.
- 4Congressional approval for major rules:
- 5- After a major rule is identified, Congress must consider a joint resolution of approval that, if enacted, approves the rule and allows it to take effect.
- 6- The joint resolution must be introduced promptly by the House and Senate leaders; it cannot be amended in either chamber.
- 7- If Congress does not enact the approval within the designated period, the major rule is deemed not approved and cannot take effect.
- 8Congressional disapproval for nonmajor rules:
- 9- Nonmajor rules may be disapproved through a joint resolution of disapproval within a 60-day window after Congress receives the rule.
- 10- If Congress does not disapprove within that window, the nonmajor rule takes effect.
- 11Information disclosure and analysis:
- 12- Agencies must publish in the Federal Register a data package showing the basis for the rule, including data, studies, and the cost-benefit analysis, and how the public can access it online.
- 13- Agencies must provide Congress with a complete cost-benefit analysis and related documents (e.g., unfunded mandates analyses, inflation impact, etc.).
- 14- GAO must provide a report to committees with an assessment of compliance and the rule’s impact on private-sector activity.
- 15Review and timing:
- 16- Major rules take effect upon enactment of a joint resolution of approval or per the rule’s own timing after approval.
- 17- Nonmajor rules take effect after submission to Congress as described in the process for nonmajor rules.
- 18- There are time-based provisions for late-session adjournment and “additional review” procedures if a rule is submitted late in a session.
- 19Review of rules currently in effect:
- 20- Starting six months after enactment, agencies must annually select at least 20% of eligible rules for review and subject them to the same 801/802/803 review processes.
- 21- If Congress does not approve designated rules within a 5-year window, those rules sunset (no effect).
- 22- A single joint resolution can approve all eligible rules for a given year, unless a member seeks a separate resolution for a specific rule.
- 23Exemptions:
- 24- Monetary policy rules from the Federal Reserve System and FOMC are exempt from this process.
- 25Special types of rules and timing:
- 26- Certain rules (e.g., those affecting hunting, fishing, or camping) may have different effective-date rules.
- 27- For good-cause rules where notice and procedures are impracticable or contrary to public interest, agencies may set an earlier effective date, though this remains subject to the act’s framework.
- 28Budgetary effect provision:
- 29- Rules subject to the BLOCK Act and affecting budget authority, outlays, or receipts are treated as effective unless Congress does not approve them under the act.