Forum on "Emerging Applications of the Congressional Review Act"

A discussion on the legal background and implications of using the Congressional Review Act to rescind the waiver of California vehicle standards.

Last week, I participated in a Federalist Society forum on "Emerging Applications of the Congressional Review Act," featuring Michael Buschbacher of Boyden Gray, PLLC and Professor Alan B. Morrison of the George Washington University Law School, moderated by Laura Stanley of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

The discussion focused on the use of the Congressional Review Act to rescind the Environmental Protection Agency's grant of waivers of preemption to California for its greenhouse gas vehicle emission standards. The Government Accountability Office did not think that the waivers qualified as rules under the CRA. Michael Bushcbacher disagreed, for reasons explained in this op-ed.  Congress disagreed too, and used the CRA to rescind the waivers.

During the forum we discussed the decision to rescind the waivers, the legal and political implications of this decision, California's lawsuit challenging the rescission, and what this (and other recent actions) mean for the future use of the CRA as a means to constrain administrative agencies. Video below.