The Congressional Review Act (CRA), which passed as an amendment
to the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA),
makes it easier for Congress to cancel a federal regulation that
legislators judged went too far. But since the SBREFA passed two
years ago, fewer than 10 resolutions of disapproval have been
introduced in either the House or Senate.
CRA backers say the amendment has been ignored because Congress
lacks the resources to analyze the impact of the thousands of
federal rules published each year. And that, they say, is the first
step in moving on a resolution of disapproval.
In light of this, congressional Republicans are trying to pump
life into the CRA with the Congressional Office of Regulatory
Analysis (CORA) Creation Act (H.R. 1704). The act is sponsored by
Rep. Sue Kelly (R-NY), chair of the House Small Business
Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Paperwork Reduction; Sen.
Richard Shelby (R-AL) is sponsoring the bill's Senatorial
counterpart (S.1675).
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CRA backers say that the CORA would allow Congress to gather the
data necessary to challenge federal agency rules. The CORA would
function in the same way the highly respected, nonpartisan
Congressional Budget Office does.
"Unless Congress more vigorously [asserts] its authority
under the Congressional Review Act," says Kelly, "it
risks becoming a paper tiger that will empower agencies to act even
more boldly because Congress has demonstrated a lack of political
will to challenge any of their decisions."
H.R. 1704 cleared the House Judiciary Committee on March 4, with
all 15 Democrats turning their thumbs down on the bill--and all but
two Republicans voting in its favor. At press time, H.R. 1704 was
expected to clear the House Government Reform and Oversight
Committee as well.
It is not clear whether President Clinton has a position on the
bill. Craig Brightup, director of government relations for the
National Roofing Contractors Association, notes that even though
some Democrats and President Clinton opposed some SBREFA
provisions, that bill passed when it was appended to another bill
that was a "must-pass" for Democrats.
Some members of Congress are concerned that the CORA would
become a monster whose budget would quickly grow out of control. To
alleviate that concern, the Judiciary Committee adopted an
amendment that says the CORA budget can be no bigger than that of
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the White
House, whose current budget is approximately $5.2 million.
Given the fees some federal rules impose on small business, that
seems a small price to pay.
Stephen Barlas is a freelance business reporter who covers
the Washington beat for 15 magazines.
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