Senators Respond to Overturning of the Chevron Doctrine
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has introduced the Stop Corporate Capture Act (SCCA) in response to the recent decision of the Supreme Court to overturn the Chevron deference doctrine, which has stood for the past 40 years. Under the Chevron deference doctrine (Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, 1984), federal courts must defer to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, provided their interpretation of those statutes is reasonable. Chevron acknowledged that federal agency experts are in the best position to write rules and regulations and implement laws passed by Congress.
On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, overturning the Chevron deference doctrine in a 6-3 decision. Chief Justice John Roberts ruled that the judiciary has the sole prerogative to say what the law is, not federal agencies. The decision has implications for all regulated industries, including healthcare, and means federal agencies’ interpretation of federal laws can be challenged in court.
The SCCA first was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) in 2021. Sen. Warren is leading the Senate response and has been joined by Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mazie Hirono (D-HA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and independent Senator, Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Sen. Warren warned that the overturning of Chevron will hamper the government’s ability to implement and enforce the law, and will give industry-backed lobbyists more negotiating power in the regulatory process than the general public. The result will be a slowing down of the enforcement of important regulations that protect Americans, and it will ultimately be Americans who pay the price.
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The SCCA will codify the Chevron deference and reform the regulatory process to end corporations’ influence over the rulemaking process and reduce delays in the implementation of laws. If passed, expert agencies will be able to conduct rulemaking in line with their reasonable interpretation of their authorizing statutes. “Giant corporations are using far-right, unelected judges to hijack our government and undermine the will of Congress,” said Sen. Warren. “The Stop Corporate Capture Act will bring transparency and efficiency to the federal rulemaking process, and most importantly, will make sure corporate interest groups can’t substitute their preferences for the judgment of Congress and the expert agencies.”
The SCCA aims to modernize and reform the regulatory process by creating a 120-day time limit for the White House to review regulations, allow rules to be reinstated that have been rescinded by Congress through the Congressional Review Act, and reform agencies’ cost-benefit analysis to emphasize public benefits of a rule, including non-quantifiable benefits such as promoting human dignity, securing child safety, and preventing discrimination.
The SCCA also seeks to empower and expand public participation in rulemaking. An Office of the Public Advocate will be established to help the public participate more effectively in regulatory proceedings, and procedures for notifying the public about pending rulemakings will be strengthened. The public will be provided with greater authority to hold agencies accountable for unreasonable delays in competing rules, and when petitions for rulemaking have 100,000 or more signatures, agencies will be required to respond.
The SCCA also seeks to improve transparency and protect independent expertise in rulemaking. These measures include the requirement for rulemaking participants to disclose any industry-funded research and other conflicts of interest, and scientific and technical research that raises a specified corporate conflict of interest must be made available for independent public review.
When a regulatory rule process ends with the withdrawal of a rule, agency officials must provide justification for that withdrawal, the White House will be required to disclose changes to draft rules during the regulatory rule process and disclose the source of those changes, and penalties must be established for corporate special interests that knowingly submit false information during the rulemaking process.
“Many Americans are taught in civics classes that Congress passes a law and that’s it, but the reality is that any major legislation enacted must also be implemented and enforced by the dedicated, nonpartisan experts at our public agencies to become a reality,” said Congresswoman Jayapal. “Too often, this process is driven by corporate lobbyists and special interests who know exactly how to make these processes benefit their bottom lines at the cost of public interest. I am proud to lead this bill, which will level the playing field and ensure that laws passed for the people actually work for the people.”
