WASHINGTON, D.C.— Stephen Hall, Better Markets Legal Director and Securities Specialist, issued the following statement in connection with the Supreme Court’s decisions in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo:
“It’s another bad day for every American who depends on our federal agencies to protect them from a wide range of threats to their health, safety, and financial well-being. That means it’s a good day for all of the scam artists, polluters, and sweatshop operators who prey on everyday Americans. The Court has abolished the common sense, longstanding, and legally appropriate obligation of federal judges to respect the way agencies interpret the laws they enforce. That means judges now have the unlimited discretion to substitute their own reading of the law for what the experts say it means. That spells disaster in cases where a statute is vague, as they often are, and ideologically biased judge want to discard the agency’s interpretation to achieve what they see as a preferred outcome. In other words, judges can now shove the experts aside and make their own decisions, without a shred of the deep experience or expertise that agencies bring to their understanding and implementation of the law. This is another setback for all American consumers and investors, as the courts continue their assault on the agencies that work so hard to serve the public interest.
“This decision threatens to return the United States to the 1910s when the government had very limited ability to protect the health, safety, and welfare of Americans. It’s going to affect everything from airbags in peoples’ cars to the quality of the food they feed their families and the water they drink. It is going to re-order the relationship between the government and the courts and the American people. It also has the potential to return the country to the control of Wall Street banks, financiers, corporations, CEOs, and the modern-day robber barons because it will be much more difficult for the government to constrain their predatory and often illegal conduct in a timely or effective way.
“Even more broadly, the decision is going to disempower the executive branch and empower federal courts and federal judges, who will now substitute their beliefs, ideologies, and biases for the informed views of the agencies appointed by the American peoples’ elected representatives. That’s because almost no laws are self-executing and virtually all laws—especially those relating to health and safety—require agency interpretation and often end up in court challenges. Unless Congress passes a new law restoring judicial respect for agency expertise and interpretation, the courts will now give agencies no deference. That’s why it is also one of the most anti-democratic decisions that any court has made in decades.”
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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.
