THE DAILY WHIP: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016

H.R. 5982 – Midnight Rules Relief Act of 2016 (Rep. Issa – Judiciary) (One hour of debate).  This bill would amend the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to allow the 115^th Congress to disapprove en masse every rule and regulation submitted under the CRA during the final sixty legislative days of the 114^th Congress, or the end of President Obama’s Administration.  Under current law, Congress has to disapprove of one regulation at a time.  H.R. 5982 would allow the Republican Congress and the new President to overturnagency rules that have been developed in strict compliance with robust and well-understood procedural requirements of Federal law, including the Administrative Procedure Act, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, and the Congressional Review Act.  These procedural requirements ensure that new rules are developed in a transparent and methodical manner that considers the input of stakeholders.   Should H.R. 5982 be enacted, it would allow the Republican Congress and the new president to overturn numerous regulations to protect the health and safety of the American people.  Additionally, H.R. 5982 would prevent any invalidated regulation from being issued again by the same agency, absent any congressional action.  

House Republicans falsely argue that H.R. 5982 is needed in order to ensure the Obama Administration does not rush through regulations before the next Presidency, but most regulations H.R. 5982 would put in jeopardy have been meticulously studied and have been put through a highly vetted process months before the 2016 Election.  The Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (CSS) which represents more than 150 consumer, labor, research, faith, and other public interest groups states that H.R. 5982 “is based on a fatally flawed premise – namely, that regulations which are proposed or finalized during the so called ‘midnight’ rulemaking period are rushed and inadequately vetted.”

In the Statement of Administration Policy, the President's senior advisors stated that they would recommend he veto this bill.

The Rule, which was adopted yesterday, makes in order 5 amendments, debatable for 10 minutes, equally divided between the offeror and an opponent.  The amendments are:

Rep. Conyers Amendment. Exempts from the bill rules that are necessary to prevent an imminent threat to public health, safety, or other emergency.
Rep. Johnson (GA) Amendment. Exempts from the bill rules that are proposed by an agency more than three years prior to the agency submitting the rule to Congress.
Rep. Jackson Lee Amendment. Exempts from the bill rules that pertain to critical matters of national security. 
Rep. Connolly Amendment #4. Exempts from the bill rules that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget determines have benefits that exceed their costs.
Rep. Connolly Amendment #5. Exempts from the bill rules that are necessary to address the harmful effects of climate change.

Bill Text for H.R. 5982:
PDF Version

Background for H.R. 5982:
House Report (HTML Version)
House Report (PDF Version)

Complete Consideration ofH.R. 5711 – To prohibit the Secretary of the Treasury from authorizing certain transactions by a U.S. financial institution in connection with the export or re-export of a commercial passenger aircraft to the Islamic Republic of Iran (Rep. Huizenga – Financial Services).  This measure would prohibit the Treasury Department from authorizing future or retroactive transactions by U.S. financial institutions to finance the export or re-export of commercial passenger aircraft to Iran.  This legislation is being brought to the Floor in response to Boeing’s September announcement stating they had received a license from the Treasury Department to sell commercial aircraft to Iran.  Enactment of this legislation would be inconsistent with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed in Vienna, Austria in 2015. 

The bill also includes the text of H.R. 5715 – No Ex-Im Assistance for Terrorism Act. This language would prohibit the Export-Import Bank from guaranteeing, insuring, extending credit to the government of Iran, an entity involving the government of Iran, or any non-U.S. entity that has leased or re-exported aircraft to the Iranian government in the last five years. It also contains vague language that could have a chilling effect on aircraft sales to countries other than Iran, as well as on entities seeking to engage in permissible business with Iran. 

The White House has issued a Statement of Administration Policy indicating that if the President were presented with H.R. 5711, he would veto it. 

The Rule, which was adopted yesterday, makes in order no further general debate or amendments.

Bill Text for H.R. 5711:
PDF Version

Background for H.R. 5711:
House Report (PDF Version)