House, Senate GOP to begin undoing Biden regulations

Republican lawmakers in both chambers are set to begin voting soon on legislation to undo a range of Biden-era rules, teeing up their first major steps toward rolling back the previous administration’s regulatory agenda.

The Senate is gearing up to begin considering Congressional Review Act resolutions in the coming weeks that would undo rules on bank mergers, methane emissions and other matters, according to a Senate GOP aide with knowledge of the matter who was granted anonymity to discuss unannounced plans. The chamber could begin voting on the roll-backs as soon as next week, though the exact timeline remains unclear.

Meanwhile, the House is set to vote next week on two of those resolutions, which would undo Biden-era climate rules.

The Senate’s top targets include a pair of resolutions introduced by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) that would overturn a rule from the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that put new restrictions on bank mergers and a regulation from the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management requiring oil and gas companies to submit archaeological reports to the agency before beginning offshore drilling, respectively.

The chamber is also expected to take up a resolution from Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) that would undo an EPA rule adding a charge on some methane emissions from oil and natural gas facilities and legislation from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to roll back an Energy Department regulation that requires increased efficiency levels for gas-fired water heaters.

Semafor first reported that the Senate is expected to take up the roll-backs.

The House is expected to vote Wednesday on rolling back the methane emissions regulation and it will take up the water heater resolution on Thursday, according to two people with knowledge of the matter who were granted anonymity to discuss the unannounced schedule.