New Commission Gets Power to Recommend Shutting Down Federal Agencies: Congress Must Vote Within 30 Days With No Amendments

The ‘10th Amendment Restoration Act of 2025’ creates a powerful new group called the Constitutional Government Review Commission. Its job? To look at every federal agency and figure out if the Constitution actually gives the federal government the authority to run it. If the Commission decides the authority isn't ‘definitely given’ to the feds, they recommend the agency’s authorizing law be repealed entirely, aiming to return those powers to the states or the people (SEC. 2).

This isn't just an advisory group that writes reports and hopes Congress reads them. This Commission has teeth, and the bill sets up a process that could fundamentally reshape the federal government, affecting everything from environmental protection to workplace safety, based on a new constitutional interpretation. They get $30 million to get started, and they can use subpoenas to force testimony and gather evidence from anyone (SEC. 7).

The Agency Hit List: Who Gets Reviewed?

The Commission's main duty (SEC. 4) is to review the laws that empower every federal agency. The goal is to ensure that any powers the Constitution didn't explicitly give to the U.S. are kept by the states. This is where things get interesting and potentially very disruptive. The Commission must first publish its methodology for review, but the core criteria is whether an agency’s power is ‘definitely given’ to the federal government.

Think about the agencies that affect your daily life. Is the authority for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate air quality ‘definitely given’ in the Constitution? What about the Department of Education, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)? If the Commission, by a simple majority vote, recommends repealing the law authorizing any of these agencies, they must then estimate the resulting budget savings and suggest how to distribute that money to the states as a lump sum.

Crucially, the Commission doesn't have to wait to be asked. But they can review an agency if requested by the President, a Member of Congress, a government employee, or even just a member of the public. This means anyone with a bone to pick with a federal agency can trigger an official review, and the Commission must post the submission online within a week.

The Fast Track: Bypassing the Normal Rules

If the Commission recommends repealing an agency, Section 5 of the bill creates an unprecedented, lightning-fast procedure for Congress to vote on it. Within five legislative days of receiving the recommendation, the Majority Leader in the House and Senate must introduce the Commission's recommendation as a bill.

Here is the kicker: Once introduced, the bill goes straight to the floor, skipping all committee review. Debate is strictly limited—10 hours in the House, 30 hours in the Senate. Most importantly, no amendments are allowed. The vote must happen within 30 legislative days. This means Congress could be forced to vote on dismantling major federal agencies with almost no debate, no chance to modify the proposal, and no committee oversight. For people who rely on federal regulations, like a construction worker depending on OSHA standards or a small business owner relying on Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, this fast-track process means massive changes could happen almost overnight without the usual system of checks and balances.

Who's Running the Show?

The Commission is made up of 9 members, all appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. However, the President must select 8 of those members from lists provided by the four top leaders in Congress (Speaker, House Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader). These candidates must be people who ‘really understand the original meaning of the Constitution’ (SEC. 3).

This appointment structure gives significant power to Congressional leadership to curate the ideological makeup of the Commission, ensuring that the people doing the reviewing share a specific, strict view of federal power. For the rest of us, this means the group tasked with deciding the fate of federal agencies will be highly specialized and potentially ideologically uniform, rather than broadly representative of different policy viewpoints.