Who Do Those Congressmen Think They Are?

by Greg Walcher on May 14, 2025

The New York Times this week shrieked about congressional republicans using what it called “an obscure law” and “a little-known statute” to rescind regulations adopted at the end of the Biden Administration.

The article refers to the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which is neither “obscure” nor “little known,” though the reporter might be forgiven for not knowing about it. She has only been out of college three years and was still in high school when the CRA last made headlines. But it has been on the books for 30 years (part of famous 1994 “Contract with America”) and has been used by Congress to overrule regulatory agencies 30 times.

Under the CRA, agencies must send new “major” rules (those costing more than $100 million or causing major price increases) to Congress before they can take effect. Congress has 60 days to rescind the rule; otherwise it goes into effect. To rescind a rule both Houses must pass a joint resolution, which the president must sign like any other law. CRA was used once to overrule a Clinton-era regulation, 14 times rescinding Obama-era rules, 3 times overruling Trump, and 10 overturning last-minute Biden regulations (so far). It has been used by majorities of both parties, and is a useful tool for Congress because CRA resolutions require only simple majorities and are not subject to filibuster in the Senate. It’s still a daunting process, considering that 17 resolutions were vetoed by presidents, 23 failed to get majority votes in one House, and 20 others failed in both Houses. Hardly a “little known” or rarely used process.

Nevertheless, some reports quote minority party leaders expressing outrage that the CRA process is being used to cancel regulations and circumvent the partisan gridlock that has brought Congress to a virtual standstill on most issues. They howl that this process is “upending longstanding policies” and undermining ordinary congressional procedures. But what is more “ordinary” than Congress making the laws? Isn’t that what the Constitution requires? That ignores the reality, of course, that in recent decades Congress has delegated much of its legislative authority to executive branch agencies. Regulations today far outnumber laws, both in number and economic impact.

The Congressional Review Act process is nothing more than Congress reasserting its authority to make laws. Vastly unpopular Energy Department rules banning gas water heaters, and imposing stringent appliance requirements, for example, have been overturned through this process, along with four regulations at the Interior Department, five at Labor, and three at EPA.

It is EPA that is drawing the most attention, though, because it has allowed the State of California to impose environmental regulations that are stricter than federal standards. That isn’t normally allowed, but EPA can grant “waivers” and has done so, one of them (issued in the last month of the Biden Administration) allowing California to ban gas-powered cars and mandate 100% electric vehicles. The House has already passed a CRA resolution overturning EPA’s waiver, thus blocking California’s rule – which will otherwise impact every state.

Pressure from both sides now focuses on the Senate, where California is crying foul, with the support of Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY). They claim the waiver for California’s electric vehicle mandate is merely a “permit,” not a “regulation” under the CRA. That argument is problematic, though, because the EPA itself submitted the matter to Congress for consideration under the CRA. Not the current EPA leadership, but Biden’s own Administration. They certainly thought the waiver qualified as a major regulation, because without question it would dramatically impact consumer prices nationwide. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Senate Parliamentarian have both entered the debate, but the GAO itself admits that it has no legal role once a regulation has been submitted under the CRA. And the Senate Parliamentarian works for the Senate, not the other way around – and the Senate overrules her opinions fairly often. Ultimately the Senate itself must decide the matter and Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) says he will bring it to a vote shortly.

The Times report says congressional leaders are “trying to go much further with the law, including using it to effectively attack state regulations blessed by the federal government.” Well, yes, it is that federal blessing that is at issue, since the Clean Air Act explicitly supersedes state laws. Still, the Times says using CRA to rescind EPA’s waiver would “test the limits of the law in a way that could vastly expand its use.” The shock! The outrage! How dare Congress presume to decide what authority EPA and other agencies have! You would think Congress created and funded these agencies. Oh wait…

One Democratic committee chairman says using the CRA sets a “dangerous precedent,” adding “That would mean countless numbers of executive actions made across the federal government would be at the mercy of the political winds of a vocal few in Congress.” Well, no, not a vocal few. The CRA requires a majority – maybe it is a “little known statute” to him, too.

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Does the Government Still Need Reclamation?

by Greg Walcher on May 9, 2025

My Grandpa once gave away a classic Model T. It would be valuable today, but he wasn’t using it and someone else was. In fact, it costs money to keep such things, so he just said, “I didn’t need it anymore.” If only the government were that wise.

We have often discussed the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), an agency that hasn’t had a serious mission for 50 years, one the government clearly doesn’t need anymore. Established in 1902 to build water projects, but languishing because Congress hasn’t funded one in a half-century, BOR nevertheless spends $1.4 billion annually and has 5,373 employees. It owns 7.8 million acres of land, 2117 buildings, 290 bridges, 3008 miles of public roads and 1327 miles of hiking trails, 590 campgrounds, 518 boat ramps, 53 power plants, 338 reservoirs, 489 dams, 53 powerplants, and 10,000 miles of canals.

Congress’s original plan was to fund projects by selling public lands, not spending tax dollars. Sellable land was never unlimited, so the mission was never considered permanent. Congress no longer funds major water projects, so BOR’s mission is little more than owning these water and power structures. Aside from giant projects like Lakes Powell and Mead, BOR doesn’t even manage most of its projects; they are mainly contracted to water users and power utilities.

Most projects were financed by the government, with water and power users obligated to repay the taxpayers over the next 40-50 years through service contracts. Most of those repayments were completed decades ago. Users also pay operation and maintenance costs annually, yet taxpayers remain on the hook for BOR’s own budgets. In 2019, Congress finally gave the Interior Department a way out, the discretionary authority to transfer title to such facilities to “qualifying entities” without congressional approval. “Qualifying entities” include state, local, and tribal governments, and the water and power users themselves.

In other words, the government does not have to own these facilities forever; it can give them to those who run, maintain, and need them. There are hundreds of perfect opportunities in all 17 states where BOR operates. Consider the Grand Valley Project, for example. Dating from 1912, it includes the Roller Dam, 3 tunnels, a small hydroelectric generator, and the Price, Stub, Orchard Mesa and Highline Canals which irrigate 30,000 acres and supply municipal water. The canals are managed by the Grand Valley Water Users Association, and the Mesa County, Palisade, and Orchard Mesa Irrigation Districts.

Another local example is the Uncompahgre Project, which includes the Gunnison Tunnel, seven diversion dams, 128 miles of canals, and Taylor Park Reservoir. It irrigates 76,000 acres in Montrose and Delta Counties, and provides important recreation and tourism resources. The government spends at least $887,000 a year to run the Uncompahgre Project and over $2 million at the Grand Valley Project – even though the operational costs of both are mostly paid by the water users themselves. There are 24 such federal projects, including 14 power plants and 60 dams, in Colorado alone.

As important as the Highline Canal, Gunnison Tunnel, and these other facilities are, why in the world do they require federal employees and congressional appropriations? Answer: they don’t.  The local districts can well run these systems, as they have been doing for decades. The Orchard Mesa Irrigation District does not need federales to maintain its canals. And if these districts owned the canals, they would unquestionably manage them more efficiently. That should be a no-brainer for a new Interior Secretary looking for ways to eliminate billions in wasteful spending and run his department more efficiently.

The 2019 law, known as the John Dingell Conservation, Management and Recreation Act (Public Law 116-9) includes Title VIII, which gives the Secretary such discretionary authority when he determines it is in the Department’s interests. That might include saving a billion dollars a year. The law suggests that entities taking title to such facilities must pay the “fair market value,” but there is a great deal of latitude in determining what that might be, especially when the water users have essentially paid the construction costs already (decades ago), still pay the annual operating costs, and by taking title would save the government a small fortune.

Under this authority, Interior has already transferred title to a couple dozen hydropower plants to the utilities that run them. It should do the same with dams, canals, headgates, ditches, laterals, and pipes all across the West. The government simply doesn’t need them, any more than Grandpa needed the old Model T.

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Colorado River: The Sky is Falling, Again

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Tariffs, Toys, & Tourism: Colorado’s Plastic Economy

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Can the Switch Be Turned Back On?

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It is ironic to see preservationists lobbying to save power plants with smokestacks, but that is the strange case of the Zuni power plant in Denver. The coal-fired steam plant was built in 1901 and provided electricity to a growing metropolis until decommissioned by Excel Energy in 2021. Excel doesn’t want it anymore, having switched […]

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