The Constitution to the Rescue
The Supreme Court recently struck a momentous blow for the Constitution, individual liberty and a brighter and more prosperous future when, in a related pair of rulings, it overturned a dreadful decision it made in 1984, Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council.
Chevron massively and dangerously increased the powers of government agencies, making them all too often a law unto themselves. It granted these entities enormous powers to write rules and regulations without congressional approval. Worse, what came to be called “Chevron deference” meant that if there was any ambiguity or question about what a law meant, courts would have to defer to the supposed expertise of the agency involved. Government bureaucracies, not the courts, would decide what a piece of legislation meant. Judicial challenges thereby became extremely dfficult, giving bureaucracies a license to invent their own authority.
Chevron ended up being an assault on the Constitution’s separation of powers. It led to egregious abuses. For instance, to extend their powers regulators defined “navigable waters” as ponds, creeks and even mud puddles. Individuals became easy targets, because they didn’t have the resources to fight the federal government.
Chevron deference blatantly ignored Article III of the Constitution, which empowers the courts to determine what the law says. It undermined the historic powers of Congress. Presidents who couldn’t get proposals through the national legislature increasingly turned to federal agencies to enact them instead. The result has been a blizzard of regulations and executive orders.
President Biden, for example, wants to ultimately banish the internal-combustion engine in cars and trucks. Congress never passed any such prohibition—and never would because of intense public opposition. The EPA is doing it instead. The list of abuses is enormous—and getting worse. Regulations now cost the economy more than an unfathomable $3 trillion a year.
To its eternal shame, Congress too often has gone along
with this neutering of its responsibilities by passing ambiguous bills and letting agencies take the heat for any controversy. That’s passing the buck—and undermining the Constitution.
Chevron also bred inconsistency, as a new administration might change the rules of a previous one.
Defenders of Chevron say overturning it will gut regulations concerning health, the environment, aircraft safety and the like. That’s nonsense.
The Justices made crystal clear the difference between expertise, say, in aircraft safety versus interpreting laws. Government agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities. That’s the job of the courts.
The Chief Justice also made a crucial point, that specific decisions made under Chevron are not automatically undone; they must be challenged.
Chevron underscores the importance of the upcoming election. Will we elect a president who will continue to act in a dictatorial manner, regardless of what the Supreme Court rules on various cases? Look at how the White House outs the decision concerning Biden’s canceling of student debt. The president continues to do it.