Two influential senators on opposite sides of the aisle introduced vastly different bills on July 23 in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Chevron deference and weaken regulatory agencies’ ability to interpret federal laws.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., introduced a bill to codify Chevron deference into law, while Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced a bill to impose additional requirements on federal agencies promulgating rules.
The bills follow a June 28 Supreme Court decision in which the justices overturned the Chevron deference standard, which the court established in 1984 and directed federal judges to defer to regulators when laws were unclear or ambiguous.
Warren’s bill, the Stop Corporate Capture Act, has nine Democratic co-sponsors and would enshrine Chevron into law. The bill was originally introduced in the House by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., in 2021 and again in 2023.
The bill would also amend the rule-making process in several ways, including authorizing agencies to reinstate rules that are rescinded by Congress through the Congressional Review Act; reforming agencies’ cost-benefit analysis to emphasize public benefits of a rule, including nonquantifiable benefits like promoting human dignity, securing child safety and preventing discrimination; requiring all rule-making participants to disclose industry-funded research or other related conflicts of interest; and mandating agency officials to provide justification when the regulatory review process ends with a rule being withdrawn, according to a news release.
“Giant corporations are using far-right, unelected judges to hijack our government and undermine the will of Congress,” Warren said in a statement. “The Stop Corporate Capture Act will bring transparency and efficiency to the federal rule-making process, and most importantly, will make sure corporate interest groups can’t substitute their preferences for the judgment of Congress and the expert agencies.”
Separately, Cassidy, ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, introduced the Upholding Standards of Accountability Act to impose “additional accountability in the agency rule-making process,” according to a fact sheet.
Cassidy’s bill would require the head of a federal agency who’s signing off on a major final rule to testify about the rule in question before congressional committees with jurisdiction within 30 days of the rule being published.
It would also require each person nominated to a Senate-confirmed position to testify before the committee of jurisdiction; mandate federal agencies to conduct retrospective cost-benefit analyses for major rule-makings within five years of each rule’s effective date; and require timely, substantive responses to congressional oversight from federal agencies.
“For decades, the executive branch has exploited Chevron deference to increase its power beyond what Congress intended, all while skirting congressional oversight,” Cassidy said in a statement. “Now, with Chevron deference overturned, Congress must work to rein in the executive branch and hold it accountable to the people and their elected representatives.”
In a divided Congress, neither bill is likely to be signed into law, but highlight the ongoing debate between parties.
