Congress has available a variety of statutory and non-statutory techniques, other than the "legislative veto," that have been used to overturn Federal agency rules, prevent their enforcement, limit their impact, or hinder their promulgation. This survey of the different statutory instruments of congressional control—direct overturn of rules, modification of agency jurisdiction, limitations in authorizing and appropriating statutes, requiring inter-agency consultation, and advance notification to the Congress—discusses a variety of mechanisms that vary in their use and their specificity, range of impact, and length of effect.

This paper is a history of actions taken by the U.S. Congress and by the various departments and regulatory agencies of the Federal Government on the subject of smoking and health for the period from the mid-1950s to the end of the 95th Congress in 1978.