Dive Brief:
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., introduced legislation that would reverse the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Chevron doctrine, according to a Tuesday press release.
- The Stop Corporate Capture Act, a joint effort by Warren, nine other Democratic senators and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., would codify the Chevron doctrine, which required federal courts to give deference to agencies’ reasonable interpretation of ambiguous statutes. The high court overturned the doctrine in a June ruling.
- “Giant corporations are using far-right, unelected judges to hijack our government and undermine the will of Congress,” Warren said in a news release. “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.”
Dive Insight:
The Supreme Court ruling to overturn the Chevron doctrine “upended the legal world” in “a move that will have a major impact on workplace regulations for years to come,” attorneys with law firm Fisher Phillips said last month.
In fact, federal judges started citing the ruling in decisions limiting agency reach the same day.
The Stop Corporate Capture Act, the senators say, “reforms the regulatory process to end corporations’ influence over the rulemaking process.”
“In striking down Chevron, the Supreme Court continued the trend toward transforming unaccountable judges into politicians with robes — unelected legislators and policymakers. Our measure is vital to preserving expert regulation and oversight, accountable to elected representatives, and preventing giant corporations and wealthy titans from exploiting power,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a statement.
The Stop Corporate Capture Act first was introduced in the House of Representatives in 2021 by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.