Chevron Deference Gives Too Much Authority to Federal Agencies

Of the issues that the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has been working on recently is offering oral arguments over the dissolving of the Chevron Deference Doctrine. This case pertains to an overarching issue concerning administrative law and its function highlighting the erosion of congressional and legislative action in favor of administrative agency action, that- according to Mary Thomas-Hart, Chief Counsel for government affairs, at NCBA, who says the Chevron deference doctrine, stemmed from an Environmental Protection Agency Supreme Court case.

“(It) was a Clean Air Act case from the EPA, and in that decision, the Supreme Court held that when it comes to vague or ambiguous laws passed by Congress, as long as administrative agencies make a reasonable interpretation of that statute of that ambiguous language, then they have deference to basically do whatever they want. So in the Supreme Courts I today that means that Congress is kind of seated their authority to administrative agencies, and I think that the Supreme Court is is interested in figuring out how to pull some of that agency different stats.”

Thomas- Hart says the goal in eliminating Chevron Deference is to bring more regulatory certainty and provide more dependability when planning for future business actions.