Bill · H.R. 1226· House(119-HR-1226)
Restoring Checks and Balances Act
- Introduced
- 2/12/2025
- Last activity
- 2/12/2025 — Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Sponsored by
- Marlin Stutzman
- Cosponsors
- - 2 - 0
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Restoring Checks and Balances Act seeks to sunset new Federal regulatory rules after five years. Under this bill, any covered rule issued by an agency would expire unless Congress specifically reauthorizes it through an Act. Once a rule sunsets, agencies are prohibited from reissuing, enforcing, or revising it. Agency heads can request reauthorization by submitting a report to Congress by December 1 of the year prior to the sunset date. This legislation applies to agency rules but excludes certain categories such as military, foreign affairs, or emergency matters.
Yes
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?+4
The bill requires agency heads to publish justification reports for rule reauthorizations on agency websites.
Would business owners be better off under this?+3
The bill provides potential relief from permanent regulatory oversight by implementing a sunset mechanism.
Does this make it easier to run a small business?+3
The bill limits the long-term growth of the regulatory burden on businesses by sunsetting rules after five years.
The opposite
Does this give the federal government more power?-4
The bill limits the sustained power of federal agencies by requiring congressional reauthorization for rules to remain in effect.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Increased Congressional Oversight: The bill requires agency heads to submit a justification for the reauthorization of each covered rule to Congress (Section 3(a)(1)). This ensures that Congress must review and approve rules through an Act before they expire.
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Transparency for the Public: Any report submitted by an agency head requesting a reauthorization must be published on the agency's public website (Section 3(c)). This allows people to see the justifications agencies are providing to keep their rules in place.
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Efficiency in Reauthorization: Agency heads are instructed to make every effort to bundle multiple reauthorization requests into a single submission (Section 3(b)), which may streamline the review process.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Regulatory Instability: Any covered rule will lose all force or effect after five years unless Congress takes action to reauthorize it (Section 2(a)). This means rules could disappear if the legislative process is not completed in time.
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Restrictions on Agency Action After Sunset: Once a rule has sunset, an agency is prohibited from reissuing, enforcing, or revising that rule (Section 2(b)). This could prevent agencies from taking necessary regulatory actions that were previously established.
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Administrative Burden for Reauthorization: To prevent a rule from expiring, agency heads must submit a detailed report including justifications and related rules to Congress by a specific deadline (Section 3(a)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Business Owners+3
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Small Business Support+3
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+4Increases Federal Power-4
- 2/12/2025
- Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in House
Ralph NormanRepublican · South Carolina
Randy WeberRepublican · Texas