Congressional Responsibility Act of 2005

H.R. 931, the Congressional Responsibility Act of 2005, would have required every new federal regulation to be approved by a vote of Congress and signed by the President before it could take effect. Under this proposal, federal agencies would be required to submit the full text and an explanation of any new rule to both the House and the Senate for formal legislative consideration.

For citizens, this would mean that government regulations—ranging from environmental standards to workplace safety rules—would no longer be implemented solely by executive branch agencies. Instead, every regulation would undergo a streamlined voting process in Congress, shifting the final authority and accountability for federal rules directly to elected representatives. Although introduced in 2005, the bill did not move past the committee stage and did not become law.