Published
April 25, 2025
Following the quick work of Congress to utilize the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal three overreaching regulations in the first 100 days of President Trump’s Administration, the Chamber is continuing to urge lawmakers to take additional action before one of the Senate’s looming May 6 deadlines.
Costly CRA-Eligible Regulations Should be Repealed
With the unprecedented cost of regulations during President Biden’s Administration—$1.8 trillion in total—many of which occurred toward the end of the previous Administration, there remain dozens of CRA-eligible regulations that could be repealed.
In particular, the Chamber is focused on the disapproval of several actions including three from the Environmental Protection Agency that let California set unattainable standards and ban gasoline and diesel cars and trucks. California's regulatory programs would increase costs for businesses nationwide by mandating the adoption of technologies that are not yet commercially viable at scale. Another regulation limiting consumer choice that the Chamber supports disapproving is the Department of Energy’s regulation that eliminates certain cost-effective hot water heaters from the marketplace.
The Chamber is also calling for the disapproval of three Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regulations that stifle innovation and risk access to important financial and healthcare services. One CFPB regulation the Chamber supports disapproving would undermine credit markets and limit access to affordable healthcare, especially in rural communities. Two other CFPB CRA disapprovals that the Chamber supports have passed out of both Chambers of Congress and await the President’s signature. The first of those that the Chamber supports disapproving would effectively prohibit bank overdraft products, blocking access for middle-class consumers to these protections. The second that the Chamber supports disapproving would stifle innovation by limiting the ability of web-based retail businesses to send online payments.
Congress should also disapprove the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) regulation imposing needless restrictions on businesses and their ability to offer competitive products and services that help keep consumer prices low. The Chamber supports disapproving an FTC regulation that would interfere with more than a billion recurring subscription agreements. Companies across the economy providing everything from internet, home security services, to lawn care and home meal kits, would be limited in their ability to offer these popular promotions.
The Bottom Line
Regulation is important to protect the health, safety, and cost to American consumers. But right-sizing regulatory policy through the CRA prevents regulatory overreach, by promoting a balanced approach that considers the broader economic impact on businesses and consumers.
About the author
Chad Whiteman
Chad S. Whiteman is vice president for environment and regulatory affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute.
