Regulatory Reform Subcommittee to Hold Hearing to Scrutinize the Leeway Bureaucrats Have in Interpreting Federal Statutes
March 8, 2016
Washington, D.C.— On Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at 1:30 p.m., the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law will hold a hearing entitled, “The Chevron Doctrine: Constitutional and Statutory Questions in Judicial Deference to Agencies.” The hearing will examine how much leeway bureaucrats currently have to interpret laws already passed by Congress since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, 467 U.S. 837 (1984).
Since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Chevron, there has been increasing confusion in the courts, Congress, the legal bar, and legal academia on the issues of whether, when and how courts should defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of the statutes they administer. Tuesday’s hearing will focus on these issues, including potential ideas for solutions to the confusion spawned by Chevron.
The witnesses for Tuesday’s hearing will be:
- Professor Jonathan Turley, The George Washington University School of Law
- Professor John Duffy, University of Virginia School of Law
- Professor George Shepard, Emory University School of Law
- Professor Jack Beerman, Boston University School of Law
- Professor Richard Pierce, The George Washington University School of Law
- Professor Emily Hammond, The George Washington University School of Law
“The central question in this debate is how much leeway should bureaucrats have in interpreting statutes passed by Congress. The laws that we charge our federal government with implementing have real impacts on hardworking American workers and households as well as American businesses. We must ensure that our laws are interpreted properly and in a manner consistent with congressional intent. This hearing will bring greater clarity to the question of what Congress must do to alleviate confusion when it comes to the proper implementation of the law.”The hearing will take place in 2141 Rayburn House Office Building and will be webcast live at /. Camera crews wishing to cover must be congressionally credentialed and RSVP with the House Radio-TV Gallery at (202) 225-5214. Click here to learn more about this hearing.