SEEC Statement on the Supreme Court’s Elimination of Chevron Deference

The leaders of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), including Co-Chairs Reps. Doris Matsui, Mike Quigley, and Paul Tonko, Vice Chairs Reps. Don Beyer, Matt Cartwright, Sean Casten, Chellie Pingree, and Katie Porter, and Chair Emeritus Rep. Gerry Connolly, released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce that upends the interpretation of federal statutes under the long-held Chevron doctrine.

"In breaking with 40 years of precedent, the Supreme Court's conservative supermajority today has scored a major blow against a properly functioning federal government. This is the culmination of the extreme right wing's quest to fully undermine the U.S. government's ability to perform its duties.

"Let's call this out for what it is: a blatant power grab. The Court's radical conservative majority has decided that they know better how to solve our nation's most pressing problems, regardless of whether they have any background or expertise in the topic at hand. As Justice Kagan dissented, 'In one fell swoop, the majority today gives itself exclusive power over every open issue-no matter how expertise-driven or policy-laden-involving the meaning of regulatory law.' They apparently think they know better than our government's leading scientists, economists, engineers, and policy experts.

"Today begins open season on any regulation that a federal judge does not like. This decision has not only robbed our nation's experts of the tools they need to craft the rules and policies designed to rein in bad actors, but also exposed our federal agencies to rising ideologically motivated challenges and attacks. This decision will affect every single one of our federal agencies working to protect the rights and well-being of the American people.

"We must return to the days of a Court that stood on the side of the disadvantaged and disenfranchised rather than on the side of polluters and corporate bad actors."

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