As You Sow Response to the Supreme Court Overruling Chevron v. NRDC, Reshaping Federal Regulatory Authority
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Sophia Wilson, swilson@asyousow.org, (341) 600-1832
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA—JUNE 28, 2024—Today, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. Chevron enabled government agencies to write and enforce the most basic rules that protect Americans. It is the backbone of modern American governance, standing for the common-sense idea that reasonable interpretations of laws made by agencies charged with implementing them should receive deference from federal judges far removed from on-the-ground expertise.
Chevron, one of the most cited cases in American law, allowed Congress and the executive branch to work together to regulate nimbly and effectively to meet emerging challenges. Unsurprisingly, this made it a target for powerful corporate interests seeking to nullify the government’s ability to protect Americans’ health, safety, and economic well-being for the sake of short-term profits.
“The consequences of this decision will reverberate widely. Americans will be less safe and less secure because of it,” said Danielle Fugere, President and Chief Counsel for As You Sow. “Most fundamentally, we now live in a less democratic society than we did yesterday. An increasingly imperious Supreme Court has made clear that nothing — not decades of established precedent and practice, not congressional and executive reliance, not its own ongoing ethical scandals — will stand in the way of the Court’s efforts to make itself the final arbiter of American law and policy.”
“A world in which agencies are restrained by lawsuits funded by powerful special interests and by a hostile judiciary is one in which social justice and sustainability will rely even more heavily on voluntary corporate action,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow. “That means that shareholders will have an even more important role to play in building a just and sustainable future."
The Chevron decision is the culmination of a series of cases by the Roberts Court to bolster moneyed interests at the expense of citizens and U.S. democracy. The Court has expanded corporate influence over elections, drastically curtailed anti-corruption laws, crushed efforts to prevent egregious gerrymandering, and all but repealed the Voting Rights Act based on little more than its own policy preferences.
The Court is now turning its attention to the agencies that protect citizens and ensure a healthy environment. In a series of cases, it has invented a “major questions doctrine” and applied it to strike down environmental regulations, health protections, and student debt relief based solely on the Court’s own conclusion that the policies were so “major” that they required explicit congressional authorization in exacting detail, despite the fact that Congress has never legislated in this way – and never could. Earlier this week, in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jaresky, the Court ignored the will of Congress and decades of court decisions allowing the SEC and other agencies to impose penalties for violation of laws through administrative tribunals. Instead, it now insists that penalties must be adjudicated in the courts, further undermining the authority of Congress and the executive branch to create administrative mechanisms for civil enforcement of regulations.
“The Supreme Court is made up of nine life-tenured, unelected lawyers. By contrast, administrative agencies are subject to oversight by the elected branches and regulated through public notice-and-comment rulemaking. The Court’s decision makes clear that the Supreme Court views agencies’ flexibility and expertise in highly specialized areas as flaws.” said Fugere.
“Investors should be concerned that well-founded regulatory guardrails have effectively been removed, with lone judges now able to reshape the regulatory landscape at will," said Behar. “Like many of its recent decisions, the Supreme Court’s overruling of Chevron is fundamentally antidemocratic, antithetical to the separation of powers, and is based on ideology, not law. It will be used to protect corporations that choose to pollute and externalize costs at the expense of every American’s health, freedom, and prosperity. It is shameful.”
Congress and President Biden must determine how to react to the Court’s crusade and protect their ability to make laws and policies on behalf of Americans. In the meantime, the Court’s war on the regulatory state lays bare that the responsibility for taking meaningful action to build a more just and sustainable future lies with the rest of us — responsible corporations, investors, and civil society.
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As You Sow is the nation’s leading shareholder representative, with a 30-year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility and advancing values-aligned investing. Its issue areas include climate change, ocean plastics, toxins in the food system, biodiversity, racial justice, and workplace diversity. Click here to view As You Sow’s shareholder resolution tracker.