# Plain Language Summary: Midnight Rules Relief Act

This bill makes it easier for Congress to reject multiple government regulations all at once, but only those issued at the very end of a president's term. Normally, when Congress wants to disapprove of a new government rule, they have to vote on each one individually through a separate resolution. This bill allows them to bundle together multiple "midnight rules"—regulations that agencies rush to finalize in the final year of a president's term—into a single vote.

The practical effect is that if you're in Congress and you disagree with several regulations that were issued near the end of a presidential term, you can now propose one resolution that rejects all of them together instead of having to go through the voting process multiple times. This speeds up the process and potentially makes it easier to block these last-minute rules since supporters only need to win one vote rather than several. The bill specifically targets rules that were reported during a president's final year in office, which is when agencies often try to lock in policies before a new administration takes over.

For everyday people, this could mean that regulations you care about—whether environmental rules, workplace safety standards, or consumer protections—could be more vulnerable to being rejected if they were issued late in a presidential term. Conversely, if you support those regulations, this bill makes it harder to defend them since opponents can now challenge multiple rules at once with a single congressional vote. The bill essentially shifts the balance of power slightly toward Congress and away from executive branch agencies when it comes to blocking these end-of-term regulations.

Midnight Rules Relief Act

Biggs, Andy

Midnight Rules Relief Act of 2023This bill allows Congress to disapprove multiple regulations under one joint resolution of disapproval if the regulations were submitted for review during a portion of the final year of a President's term.Under current law, the Congressional Review Act generally&nbsp;provides for a period of additional review during the succeeding Congress for regulations that were submitted during the last 60 legislative days of the prior Congress. However, each joint resolution may disapprove of only one regulation.