05.08.25

Senate Republicans Are Dismantling Biden’s Costly and Onerous Regulatory Regime

Putting Families and Small Businesses First, Senate Republicans Have Overturned 14 Onerous Biden Rules and Regulations

IN AN EFFORT TO ROLL BACK THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S OVER $1.8 TRILLION REGULATORY AGENDA, SENATE REPUBLICANS  PASSED 14 CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT (CRA) RESOLUTIONS OF DISAPPROVAL

“[W]hat my Democrat colleagues frequently fail to realize is that while government can sometimes be a help, it can often be a hindrance – especially under Democrat administrations, which tend to load down Americans and American businesses with burdensome regulations for extremely dubious gains. The Biden administration certainly did. And one of our priorities this Congress has been taking advantage of the Congressional Review Act to repeal burdensome Biden administration regulations.” – Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.)

  • During President Biden’s time in office, his administration’s regulatory costs “added up to more than $1.8 trillion – far exceeding any preceding administration on record,” leading to the creation of 356 million new hours of paperwork compliance. (American Action Forum: The Biden Regulatory Record – 1/29/25)
  • The Biden administration issued more economically significant rules “than any of the past six administrations managed to accomplish in the entire four years of their first term.” (The Wall Street Journal: The Regulatory State Is In Flux Like Never Before, and Businesses Are Hating It – 9/3/24)
  • “The 1996 Congressional Review Act allows a majority of both chambers to repeal regulations with a President’s signature… regulations finalized after Aug. 15 could be subject to the CRA’s ‘lookback period.’” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: Congress Lines Up Regulatory Vetoes – 2/21/25)
  • “Enacting any of the regulatory rollbacks will also prevent the agencies in question from issuing similar regulations in the future.” (Semafor: Republicans eye rollback of Biden rules on banks, WiFi and more – 2/21/25)

THIS WEEK, THE SENATE PASSED FOUR RESOLUTIONS OVERTURNING HEAVY-HANDED BIDEN RULES AND REGULATIONS

  • The Senate voted for Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.) resolution overturning the Biden administration’s rubber tire manufacturing rule. The rule set duplicative emission standards that would cost manufacturers at least $13 million per year while potentially increasing carbon dioxide and methane emissions. (H.J.Res. 61: Roll Call Vote #232 – 5/6/25; Sen. Tim Scott: Scott, Wicker, Griffith Push Back on EPA Overreach – 2/26/25)
    • “The amended Biden NESHAP rule is counterproductive in every sense and the type of government inefficiency and overreach Americans are sick of. It will increase emissions and cost job creators millions in compliance expenses each year.” – Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.)
  • In an effort to ensure public lands remain accessible to Americans, Senate Republicans passed Sens. John Curtis (R-Utah) and Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) resolution overturning a Biden regulation limiting access to public lands in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area for those with off-road vehicles. (H.J.Res. 60: Roll Call Vote #239 – 5/8/25; E&E News: Lee, Curtis resolution targets NPS vehicle restrictions – 3/5/25)
    • “The Biden Administration repeatedly sought to close off public lands from Utahns and all Americans… We introduced a resolution that rescinds a ban on off-road vehicles in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area—a step to ensure that public lands remain accessible for the people, not dictated by Washington bureaucrats.” – Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah)
  • The Senate passed Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) resolution blocking a Biden-era Federal Communications Commission (FCC) “order that violates federal law, creates major risks for kids’ online safety, harms parental rights, and will increase taxes on working families.” (S.J.Res. 7: Roll Call Vote #238 – 5/8/25; U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation: Chairman Cruz Leads Senate Commerce GOP in Effort to Stop Biden FCC from Subsidizing Kids’ Unsupervised Internet Access – 1/27/25)
  • The Senate also passed Sen. John Kennedy’s (R-La.) resolution repealing a Biden rule “that delays the bank merger approval process by adding more red tape that could lead to consumer uncertainty.” (S.J.Res. 13: Roll Call Vote #237 – 5/7/25; Sen. Kennedy: Kennedy introduces resolution to undo Biden admin bureaucracy that leads to consumer uncertainty – 2/4/25)
    • “President Biden and his people had the remarkable ability to take something that wasn’t broken and try to fix it. They would take something that wasn’t broken in government and take it apart, loosen a few screws, and then it would be broken.” – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.)

SENATE REPUBLICANS HAVE BEEN PASSING RESOLUTIONS TO ELIMINATE BIDEN REGULATIONS THAT HAMPER THE MANUFACTURING OF HOUSEHOLD AND COMMERCIAL APPLIANCES

  • The Senate voted to pass Sen. Ashley Moody’s (R-Fla.) resolution overturning a Biden rule mandating more stringent energy standards for commercial refrigerators and freezers, which would drive up costs and reduce choice for small businesses such as restaurants, convenience stores, and grocery stores. (H.J.Res 75: Roll Call Vote #228 – 5/1/25; Sen. Moody: Out of the Gate, Moody Emerges as Champion to Eliminate Costly Rules of Biden-Era “Green New Scam” – 5/1/25)
  • Sen. John Curtis’ (R-Utah) resolution was passed by the Senate, blocking a Biden rule requiring entities to continue being subject to “major source” national emissions standards even if they reduce their emissions below the threshold outlined in the Clean Air Act. (S.J. Res 31: Roll Call Vote #229 – 5/1/25; Sen. Curtis: Curtis Resolution Overturning Harmful EPA Rule Passes Senate – 5/1/25)
  • The Senate passed Sen. Jon Husted’s (R-Ohio) resolution overturning a Biden regulation that issued “new certification, labeling and enforcement requirements for 20 household and commercial products, including dishwashers, central AC and heat pumps, clothes, washers and more,” which would increase costs and reduce options for consumers. (H.J.Res. 42: Roll Call Vote #223 – 4/30/25; Sen. Husted: Senate passes Husted resolution to relieve consumers from burdensome Biden requirements on household appliances – 4/30/25)
  • The Senate passed Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) resolution repealing a Biden rule regulating water heaters, which was “expected to affect between 30 to 40 percent of heaters currently on the market.” (H.J.Res. 20: Roll Call Vote #207 – 4/10/25; The Hill: Cruz resolution seeks to undo delayed water heater efficiency rule – 2/19/25)
  • Senate Republicans voted to reverse a Biden rule that “set more stringent standards” for walk-in coolers and freezers, which would raise consumers’ equipment costs by at least $99 million per year. Manufacturers of non-display doors and refrigeration systems would also incur costs of $90 million in order to comply with the rule. (H.J.Res. 24: Roll Call Vote #162 – 4/3/25; The Washington Examiner: House votes to cancel Biden efficiency rules for refrigerators and freezers – 3/27/25; U.S. Federal Register: Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Walk-In Coolers and Walk-In Freezers – 12/23/24)

SENATE REPUBLICANS ALSO VOTED TO OVERTURN SEVERAL BIDEN REGULATIONS TARGETING BANKING, CRYPTOCURRENCY, AND DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION

  • The Senate passed Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.) resolution that overturned a Biden-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule capping the overdraft fees that banks can charge. The rule would have “hurt the low-income Americans it is supposed to help” by reducing “banking services that Americans sometimes need in a financial pinch.” (S.J.Res. 18: Roll Call Vote #153 – 3/27/25; The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: Good Night to a Biden Overdraft Rule – 3/27/25)
  • The Senate passed Sen. Pete Ricketts’ (R-Neb.) resolution, which overturns a “rule by the CFPB that expanded its authority to supervise fintech apps in the payments space,” which Americans have used for over 13 billion transactions. (S.J.Res. 28: Roll Call Vote #106 – 3/5/25; Axios: Senate votes to overturn IRS' DeFi broker rule – 3/4/25; Reuters: Tech groups sue US CFPB to block rule on payment apps, digital wallets – 1/16/25)
  • The Senate passed Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) resolution, which overturns a Biden administration rule targeting the cryptocurrency industry that “requires decentralized finance, or DeFi, platforms to report transactions to the government just like stock brokerages do and centralized crypto exchanges soon will.” (H.J.Res. 25: Roll Call Vote #151 – 3/26/25; The Wall Street Journal: Republicans Want to Kill Tax-Reporting Rule for Some Crypto Trades – 1/31/25; Reuters: US Treasury finalizes new crypto tax reporting rules – 6/28/24)
  • The Senate also passed Sen. John Hoeven’s (R-N.D.) resolution to “block implementation of the Biden administration’s Natural Gas Tax,” also known as the methane fee, “which was passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats’ reckless tax-and-spend legislation in 2022.” (H.J.Res. 35: Roll Call Vote #97 – 2/27/25; Sen. Hoeven: Hoeven, Pfluger Continue Efforts to Block Biden’s Natural Gas Tax, Alleviate Burden on U.S. Domestic Energy Production – 2/4/25)
  • The Senate voted to overturn “a Biden administration regulation hampering domestic energy production… Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy sponsored the resolution, which sought to repeal a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) rule handicapping offshore oil and gas production.” (S.J.Res. 11: Roll Call Vote #92 – 2/25/25; The Daily Caller: Senate Dems Obstruct GOP Effort To Remove Biden’s Handcuffs On American Energy – 2/25/25)