It’s no secret that the lawmaking process in Washington can be painfully slow. Committee hearings, markups, floor debates and filibusters each take a lot of time, and collectively, they make the tortoises look speedy.

Today eight Senate Democrats, led by Sens. Whitehouse and Cortez Masto, introduced the Supreme Court Review Act (S. 4681), which would help Congress respond more quickly in the aftermath of a Supreme Court decision that invalidates all or part of a law or reinterprets the Constitution in a way that permits a congressional response.

Rep. Hank Johnson will introduce a House companion shortly.

The bill is modeled after the Congressional Review Act, which expedites the process by which lawmakers can overturn a rule made by a federal agencies.

FTC’s Gabe Roth said:

“There’s no question that in recent years the Supreme Court has become the nation’s most powerful, least accountable institution — one that our founders would barely recognize. So it’s critical that the people, through our representatives in Congress, find creative, constitutional ways to reclaim that power. That’s why I support Sens. Whitehouse and Cortez Masto’s Supreme Court Review Act, which would eliminate a host of unwieldy and redundant legislative processes to help lawmakers respond promptly when nine lawyers on First Street unduly set national policy.”

For more information, see this press release from Sen. Whitehouse.

For a flow chart explaining how this would work in practice, see this from the senator’s office.