Federal Agency Sunset Commission Act of 2025
The Federal Agency Sunset Commission Act of 2025 would create a new independent body—the Federal Agency Sunset Commission—to systematically review every federal agency and its programs with the aim of abolishing, reorganizing, or continuing them on a sunset schedule. Agencies would be reviewed on a rotating cycle (abolished unless Congress reauthorizes), with a possibility to extend an abolishment date by up to two years via a supermajority vote. The Commission would compile a detailed program inventory, publish annual recommendations to Congress, and use an expedited joint-resolution process to implement its schedule. The act is designed to force periodic reassessment of federal agencies to improve efficiency and reduce duplication, while giving Congress final authority to reauthorize or restructure agencies. If enacted, the bill would likely shift how and when agencies are renewed, restructured, or shut down, elevating legislative review processes and increasing public input and cross-agency consolidation considerations. It would also create new procedural and budgetary requirements (inventorying programs, public hearings, and interagency coordination) and grant the Commission subpoena and other oversight powers to carry out its duties.
Key Points
- 1Establishment of the Federal Agency Sunset Commission (13 members, mix of presidential, Senate, and House appointments plus non-Congressional experts) with defined terms, leadership, and meeting rules.
- 2Mandatory sunset review schedule: each agency must be reviewed and abolished on a rotating cycle (abolishment date every 12 years, extendable by up to 2 years with supermajority approval in both chambers).
- 3Comprehensive program inventory requirement: the Comptroller General, CBO, and CRS must compile an inventory for each program, detailing authorizing statutes, budgets, reauthorization dates, responsible agencies, and other key data to guide reviews.
- 4Criteria for review: the Commission uses 16 criteria (effectiveness, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, scope, duplication, potential consolidation, beneficiaries, public input, regulatory/paperwork impact, equal employment opportunity, coordination with state/local governments, and statutory modernization needs) to evaluate whether agencies should be abolished, reorganized, or continued.
- 5Expedited joint-resolution process: a fast-track mechanism for Congress to vote on the Commission’s schedule for review, including time-limited debate and no amendments, with a fallback provision if Congress fails to act within one year.
- 6Compliance and wind-down: if an agency is abolished, the President must wind down its operations within one year, designating obligations that cannot be resolved in that period.
- 7Oversight and coordination: the Commission can hear, subpoena, and obtain information from agencies; it must coordinate with GAO, OMB, the CG, and congressional oversight leaders; it also monitors other proposed legislation that would create new agencies or programs.