Earthjustice Praises Bill to Codify ‘Chevron Deference’

July 23, 2024

Earthjustice Praises Bill to Codify 'Chevron Deference'

The Stop Corporate Capture Act would bring transparency, equity, and a reliance on agency expertise back to the rulemaking process

Contacts

Geoffrey Nolan, [email protected]

Washington, D.C.-

Today, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced the Stop Corporate Capture Act. The bill would reduce the influence of corporations on the federal rulemaking process while increasing efforts to engage with diverse stakeholders and communities when implementing federal statutes. Additionally, the bill would codify the long-standing legal principle of judges deferring to the expertise of federal agencies in decisions involving regulations, also known as Chevron deference. In late June, the conservative supermajority of the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the use of Chevron deference in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, threatening the legitimacy of hundreds of federal regulations. Last year, U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal introduced the House companion legislation, H.R. 1507.

After the bill's introduction, Earthjustice Vice President of Policy and Legislation Raúl García issued the following statement:

"At a time when decisive and expertly crafted action is needed to address the greatest environmental and health crises, the Loper Bright decision severely undermined the ability of expert federal agencies and Congress to act. Instead, it transferred an inordinate amount of power to judges who lack the profound understanding needed to craft federal regulations. Federal agency rules provide critical public protections that safeguard our access to clean air and water, prevent species extinction, and help the government fight climate change. This bill rightly remedies an egregious power grab from the U.S. Supreme Court while creating a more transparent and equitable federal rulemaking process. We thank Senators for fighting to ensure that expert federal agencies have the power and mandate to protect the people who need these protections the most, not greedy corporations concerned more about their profits."

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. (Matt Roth for Earthjustice)

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