[HOUSE PRACTICE, 104th Congress, 2d Session]
[A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]
[DOCID:hp_txt-14]                         

[Page 343-344]

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                     CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL ACTIONS

  Sec. 1. In General
  Sec. 2. Constitutionality
  Sec. 3. Consideration in the House
        Research References
          U.S. Const. art. I Sec. 7
          Manual Secs. 1013-1013(26)


  Sec. 1 . In General

      Congress has enacted numerous laws reserving to itself a right of 
  review by approval or disapproval of certain actions of the executive 
  branch or of independent agencies. These laws, known as 
  ``Congressional disapproval'' statutes, take various forms. For 
  example, the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Act permits the 
  privileged consideration of joint resolutions approving Presidential 
  decisions on the Alaska natural gas transportation system, when those 
  resolutions are reported from committee or are discharged after 30 
  days. 15 USC Secs. 719(f), 719(g). Manual Sec. 1013(20). See 95-1, 
  Nov. 1, 1977, p 36347. Another statute sets forth a similar procedure 
  for congressional approval or disapproval of certain actions by the 
  District of Columbia Council. District of Columbia Home Rule Act, 
  Secs. 602(c), 604. Manual Sec. 1013(5).


  Sec. 2 . Constitutionality

      Recent Federal court decisions indicate that congressional action 
  to approve or disapprove an executive branch determination should be 
  undertaken by way of a bill or joint resolution and not by way of a 
  simple or concurrent resolution or through committee action. In 1983, 
  the U.S. Supreme Court declared in Immigration and Naturalization 
  Service v Chadha that a statute permitting the disapproval of a 
  decision of the attorney general by simple resolution of one House 
  only was unconstitutional. The Court said the device violated the 
  doctrine of separation of powers, the principle of bicameralism, and 
  the clause of the Constitution requiring that legislation passed by 
  both Chambers must be presented to the President for his signature or 
  veto. See 462 US 919. In an earlier decision, the U.S. Court of 
  Appeals had specifically held a one-house legislative veto provision 
  in the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (15 USC Sec. 3341(b)) to be 
  unconstitutional. In its decision the circuit court (for the District 
  of Columbia) said that the pri-

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  mary basis for its holding was that the one-house veto violates 
  constitutional Article I section 7, both by preventing the President 
  from exercising his veto power and by permitting legislative action by 
  only one House of Congress. The circuit court also found the one-house 
  veto to contravene the separation of powers principle implicit in 
  Articles I, II, and III because it authorizes the legislature to share 
  powers properly exercised by the other two branches of government. The 
  court declared that Article I section 7 sets forth the fundamental 
  prerequisites to the enactment of federal laws--bicameral passage of 
  legislation and presentation for approval or disapproval by the 
  President, and held that congressional disapproval of final agency 
  rules must comply with these requirements. The court added that 
  Congress may choose to use a resolution of disapproval as a means of 
  expediting action, but only if it acts by both Houses and presents the 
  resolution to the President. Consumer Energy Council of America, et 
  al. v FERC, 673 F2d 425 (D.C. Cir. 1982), Affd, 103 S. Ct. 3556.
      In the light of these decisions, Congress has amended several 
  statutes to convert procedures involving simple or concurrent 
  resolutions of approval or disapproval to procedures requiring joint 
  resolutions to be presented to the President for his signature or 
  returned for a possible veto override, consistent with the 
  ``presentment'' clause of Article I section 7. Manual Sec. 1013.


  Sec. 3 . Consideration in the House

      Many ``Congressional disapproval'' statutes prescribe special 
  procedures for the House to follow when reviewing executive branch 
  actions. Manual Secs. 1013(1)-1013(32). For a list of statutes having 
  such procedures, see Manual Sec. 1013. These procedures technically 
  are rules of the House, enacted expressly or impliedly as an exercise 
  of the House's rule-making authority. At the beginning of each 
  Congress, it is customary for the House to reincorporate by reference 
  in the resolution adopting its rules such ``Congressional 
  disapproval'' procedures as may exist in current law. Nevertheless, 
  because the House retains the constitutional right to change its rules 
  at any time, the Committee on Rules may report a resolution varying 
  such procedures. Manual Sec. 1013.
      Where a law enacted as a rule of both Houses provides special 
  procedures during consideration of a joint resolution approving a 
  Presidential determination, and the House then adopts a special order 
  providing for consideration of such a joint resolution in the House, 
  the Speaker will nevertheless interpret the special statutory 
  provisions to apply if consistent with the special order. 97-1, Dec. 
  10, 1981, p 30486.