A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency of the Department of the Treasury relating to the review of applications under the Bank Merger Act.

Enumerated powers · passes

Congress acts under explicit legislative authority: Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 to regulate interstate commerce including national banking, Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 as necessary and proper to oversee execution of the Bank Merger Act, and Article I, Section 7 for bicameral passage and presentment of a joint resolution. Use of the Congressional Review Act under 5 U.S.C. chapter 8 to disapprove an executive rule is a direct exercise of legislative power and separation of powers, not an overstep.

Bill of Rights · passes

Nullifying an agency procedural rule on bank merger applications restricts no speech, religion, press, assembly, arms, search, trial, jury, punishment, or other right under Amendments 1-10. No First Amendment activity is burdened, no Fourth Amendment search is authorized, and no other Bill of Rights protection is implicated.

Individual liberty · passes

The resolution removes rather than imposes a restriction, eliminating added regulatory barriers such as removal of expedited review and streamlined forms. It expands the freedom of private persons and associations to combine, contract, and labor under the Ninth Amendment retained rights and Fifth Amendment liberty, with no compelled speech, belief, or taking of person or property.

Decentralization · passes

Bank chartering and merger approval under federal law cannot be handled by individuals, localities, or states alone because federally chartered banks operate under federal authority. This action does not consolidate power upward; it does the opposite by nullifying an added federal procedural requirement and returning to the statutory baseline, satisfying the Tenth Amendment minimum-necessary principle.

Due process and takings · passes

The resolution takes no property, imposes no penalty, creates no presumption of guilt, and denies no hearing. It preserves procedural due process under the Fifth Amendment by restoring the prior review procedures through lawful legislative process with bicameralism and presentment, rather than bypassing notice or hearing.