Orrin Hatch: “the Hutchison amendment that is currently pending, which restores a modified version of section 709 to the Judiciary…”

“the Hutchison amendment that is currently pending, which restores a modified version of section 709 to the Judiciary Committee version of S. 343, is intended to deal with the problem that is appearing with more frequency of agencies bringing enforcement actions and seeking civil and criminal penalties for the alleged violations of rules that are increasingly complex, convoluted, and often unclear. In their zeal to compile enforcement statistics, some Government agencies have, on occasion, initiated cases based upon novel interpretations of their own rules, interpretations that have never been communicated to the regulated community, or the community they are regulating. In some cases, the actions have been brought to retroactively impose requirements based on some new--some new--agency interpretation of a rule or some new factual determination even where the person against whom the action is brought has reasonably relied upon a prior agency interpretation or determination. Moreover, there are situations in which agencies develop complicated and ambiguous rules and then seek to punish individuals or companies if they guess wrong as to what those rules mean. At stake in these cases are penalties worth millions of dollars, and even Federal imprisonment is at stake for some of our citizens.”