In a positive decision that will be felt throughout the federal government, the United States District Court for the District of Idaho recently ruled that agency compliance with the Congressional Review Act (CRA) is subject to judicial review. First signed into law in 1996, the CRA requires that agencies submit new and amended rules to Congress for review, creating an essential check on the increasingly powerful administrative state. The CRA was used effectively in the first year of the Trump Administration to overturn numerous Obama Administration rules. But language in the CRA raises a question about whether courts can review agency compliance.
In this case, a cattle-ranching operation based in Oakley, Idaho was adversely affected by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Department of Agriculture, and the Forest Service’s controversial amended rules regarding land use in 11 western states, including Idaho. The ranchers alleged that because the agencies never properly submitted the land use amendments to Congress, the agencies violated the CRA. In an attempt to evade oversight that could potentially limit agency power, the government argued that the ranchers’ motion should be dismissed, claiming that an agency’s violations of the CRA are not subject to judicial review and thus, the Court lacks jurisdiction. The district court rejected the government’s argument, stating that “such un-checked authority does not make sense, defeats the general purpose of the act, is contradicted by the legislative history, and ultimately leaves third parties without any remedy at law against violations of the act itself.”[1] If the Court had ruled that agency compliance with the CRA is not subject to judicial review, it would have opened the door for agencies throughout the federal government to ignore the law’s constraint on their authority.
This case is not the only instance where government agencies have avoided complying with the CRA. In 2017, Cause of Action Institute released a list of 835 economically significant rules and regulations that appeared in the Federal Register but were not submitted to Congress, as required by the CRA. As Congress continues to delegate more and more authority to agencies, it is crucial that the CRA is used to ensure that agencies aren’t abusing their power and risking Americans’ economic freedom and prosperity. By recognizing that judicial review exists, this decision will require agencies to be accountable for their actions and will hopefully encourage them to submit all proposed rules to Congress for review.
Libby Rudolf is a litigation support analyst at Cause of Action Institute.
[1] Tugaw Ranches, LLC v. United States Department of Interior, et al., 2019 WL 938865 (D. Idaho 2019)
