Stacey Mitchell Quoted in Law360 on Congressional Review Act as an Option for Biden, Democrats
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Akin Gump environment and natural resources partner Stacey Mitchell has been quoted in the Law360 article “Dems To Tread Lightly With Tool To Nix Trump Energy Regs.”
The article reports on how President Biden and congressional Democrats could use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to reverse certain Trump-era energy and environmental policies. Under the law, the article says, Congress can pass a resolution by a majority vote disapproving of major federal regulations within 60 legislative days of their release. If signed by the President, the regulations would then be nullified with judicial review not permitted.
At the same time, though, the article says the CRA should be used cautiously as it would prevent very similar rules from being issued without congressional approval.
“It’s a quick fix, but there needs to be a lot of consideration on what its long-term effect will be,” said Mitchell. “A quick fix is not always the best solution.”
What the article calls, an “all-or-nothing approach,” is the biggest reason the CRA has only been used sparingly since its enactment in 1996. That is unlikely to change, it says, with a Biden administration that has laid out ambitious energy and environmental policy plans.
“To the extent the administration has a sense it may want to regulate in that space, avoiding the use of the CRA seems to be most pragmatic approach,” observed Mitchell.
