Political Quotes

“Members of the committee and the House Representatives, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 4768, the Separation of Powers Restoration Act. By eliminating judicial deference to agency determinations, the bill would make the already ossified rulemaking process even more time consuming and costly, threatening the ability of Federal regulatory agencies to protect public health and safety. This is true for several reasons. Ironically, for a bill that purports to restore separation of powers, H.R. 4768 actually raises separation of power concerns. It is ironic, but accurate. Congress makes the laws and agencies implement them while the courts are supposed to interpret the law. The Supreme Court has long recognized that Congress may constitutionally delegate its authority to agencies through statutes to promulgate rules to implement the law it passes, with democratic accountability stemming from the fact that Congress can always rescind or narrow the scope of that delegation. We specifically entrust these agencies, not the courts, with broad policymaking authority. Yet, by removing constraints on judicial review of agency action, H.R. 4768 would empower generalist and unelected courts to nullify agency action solely on policy grounds, substituting the administrative record with their own policy preferences.…”