Politics | Opinion
The U.S. Supreme Court Contemplates Gutting Regulation Authority
The Supreme Court hears arguments that could gut federal regulatory powers
The U.S. Supreme Court signaled its willingness to gut regulations across all federal agencies earlier this month.
On January 17th, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court listened to arguments that might overturn a decades-old ruling in Chevron v. NRDC that gives U.S. federal agencies layers of autonomy and power. The ruling spans back to 1984. The case specifically references EPA regulations that proliferated throughout the 1980s following the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977.
It enables federal agencies (like the EPA and the FDA) to make decisions when the law is ambiguous, without needing to defer to the courts first.
This ruling helped solidify our departure from the smog-and-pollution-infested 1970s, when the air quality was appalling in the U.S. Pollution has declined at a considerably faster rate since.
The case documents read:
When a challenge to an agency construction of a statutory provision, fairly conceptualized, really centers on the wisdom of the agency’s policy, rather than whether it is a reasonable choice within a gap left…
