This week, we’re taking a look back at five ways we’ve made America better during the 115th Congress. During the 115th Congress, Education and Workforce Committee Republicans worked hard on solutions to some of the greatest challenges facing the country. These solutions have been varied and diverse because the American people’s needs are varied and diverse. But one of the committee’s most important accomplishments this Congress was delivering regulatory relief through the Congressional Review Act (CRA).

During President Obama’s time in office, Washington bureaucrats imposed a barrage of extreme and partisan regulations that stifled economic growth, consolidated federal authority, and hurt everyday Americans. In order to reverse the most harmful regulations, House Republicans employed the CRA to provide regulatory relief for American families and businesses.

This Congress, the House and Senate passed – and President Trump signed – 14 resolutions through the Congressional Review Act. Of those 14, six of the joint resolutions were sponsored by members of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, with five having been offered by the committee:
 
H.J.Res.37 — Blacklisting Rule

Sponsored by Rep. Virginia Foxx // Became Law March 27, 2017
Introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, H.J.Res.37 blocked the flawed Obama administration’s blacklisting rule.

H.J.Res.57 — Education Accountability Rule

Sponsored by Rep. Todd Rokita // Became Law March 27, 2017
Introduced by Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN), chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, H.J.Res.57 vacated a regulation that dictated prescriptive accountability.

H.J.Res.58 — Teacher Preparation Rule

Sponsored by Rep. Brett Guthrie // Became Law March 27, 2017
Introduced by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, H.J.Res.58 stopped a partisan rule that would have significantly expanded the federal government’s role in teacher preparation, and may have led to fewer teachers electing to serve our nation’s most vulnerable students.

H.J. Res.66 & 67 — State and Local Retirement Plan

Sponsored by Reps. Tim Walberg and Francis Rooney // Became Law May 17 and April 14, 2017, Respectively
Introduced by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, and by Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL), H.J.Res.66 & 67 closed a regulatory loophole that would have funneled certain private-sector workers into government-run retirement accounts without the consumer protections provided by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

H.J.Res.83 — OSHA Power Grab

Sponsored by Rep. Bradley Byrne // Became Law April 4, 2017
Introduced by Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL), chairman of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, H.J.Res.83 nullified the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) “Volks” rule – a rule that would unlawfully target employers for record-keeping infractions.