Restoring Checks and Balances Act

Key Points

• This bill would make most new federal rules expire automatically after five years unless Congress specifically votes to keep them. This shifts power from federal agencies back to elected lawmakers, requiring active approval rather than allowing rules to remain indefinitely.
• Once a rule expires, the agency that created it cannot bring it back, enforce it, revise it, or take any related action. This means that if Congress does not act, the rule disappears permanently.
• Agency leaders who want to keep a rule must submit a report to Congress at least one year before it expires, explaining why the rule is still needed. They are encouraged to bundle multiple requests together in a single submission.
• Several categories of rules are exempt from the five-year sunset. These include rules about military or foreign affairs, criminal law enforcement, internal agency management, and emergency rules needed to address immediate threats to health or safety.
• Critics worry that given Congress's limited bandwidth, many important protections for things like the environment, workplace safety, and consumer rights could quietly expire simply because lawmakers run out of time to vote on reauthorization.