# Plain Language Summary: REINS Act of 2025

## What This Bill Does

This bill would fundamentally change how federal regulations work by requiring Congress to actively approve major new rules before they can take effect. Currently, federal agencies can create regulations that automatically become law unless Congress votes to reject them. This bill flips that process—major regulations would now need explicit Congressional approval through a joint resolution (a bill that both chambers must pass) before they can be implemented. If Congress doesn't vote to approve a major rule within 70 days, the rule automatically dies.

## Who Is Affected

**Supporters argue this benefits:**
- Taxpayers and businesses by giving Congress more control over regulations that affect them
- The general public by increasing transparency and accountability in how rules are made

**Critics would likely argue this affects:**
- Federal agencies' ability to quickly respond to public health, safety, and environmental issues
- Workers and consumers who rely on regulations for protections
- Congress, which would face a massive new workload reviewing hundreds of regulations annually

## Key Provisions

- **Major rules** (those with significant economic impact) require Congressional approval to take effect
- **Non-major rules** can still take effect under existing procedures
- Agencies must provide detailed cost-benefit analyses and economic impact studies to Congress
- The Government Accountability Office (GAO) must review major rules within 15 days
- The President can temporarily allow a major rule to take effect for 90 days in emergencies (health, safety, national security, or criminal enforcement)
- Congress has 70 legislative days to approve a rule, or it's automatically rejected