Are Congressional Democrats Warming Up to the Legislative Veto?

William YeatmanCongressional Democrats seem to be warming up to the legislative veto. If so, it would mark a welcome breakthrough in regulatory politics.But first: What ’s a legislative veto?Basically, it ’s a way for Congress to stop a regulation in its tracks. From 1932 to 1975, Congress included 292 of these veto provisions in laws that created regulatory agencies. These vetoes came in many flavors. Sometimes, it took a majority of both the House and Senate to kill a regulatory action. Other times it took passage in only one of the chambers. Less frequently, a legislative veto could be imposed by a single congressional committee.Though employed infrequently, these provisions operated as “a central means by which Congress secure[d] the accountability of [regulatory] agencies,” according to Supreme Court Justice Byron White. Regulatory agencies feared the legislative veto and, therefore, honored objections registered by lawmakers.Alas, the Supreme Courtnixed the legislative veto in 1983.The problem, according to a majority of Justices, was that these measures had the effect of law, yet they didn ’t result from the legislative process set forth in the Constitution—that is, passage byboth chambersand the president ’s signature.Thirteen years later, Congress revived the concept, albeit in a lesser form, when President Clinton signed theCongressional Review Act ( “CRA”). Under the act, lawmakers have a...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs