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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRepublicans Are Using An Arcane Tool To Handcuff Federal Agencies
WASHINGTON ― While President Donald Trump distracts the public with his angry tweets, Republicans in Congress have been busy undoing federal regulations that agencies have been working on for years.
GOP lawmakers are dismantling regulations they deem overreaching and burdensome using an obscure law known as the Congressional Review Act, or CRA, which can be used to undo any regulation within 60 days of its finalization. The law, passed in 1996, also bars agencies from writing a substantially similar rule after the initial rule has been blocked ― a major concern for legal experts and advocates.
The CRA came to be under legislation pushed by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.). Lawmakers wanted an easier way to undo regulations, even though agencies can only issue them according to statutes written by Congress.
Congress had only used the CRA once before Trump took office, which is another reason people are concerned about its implications. There isnt a whole lot of legal precedent concerning how and when it should be used.
SOURCE: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_58a7776ae4b045cd34c1a44c?
SharonAnn
(13,780 posts)Every time we talk about these, we should be talking about them as "protections".
For example, "45 has removed the PROTECTIONS for streams and mountains in coal mining country". " Now coal companies can destroy mountaintops and poison and block mountain streams where people live".