Ruling will endanger federal government efforts to keep air and water clean, fight climate change, protect consumers from rip-offs

Washington (June 28, 2024) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, released the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Chevron v. NRDC, known as Chevron deference, which required judges to defer to agency interpretation of laws they are charged with administering.

“The activist, far-right justices have once again abandoned the Supreme Court’s bedrock commitment to precedent, overturning long-settled law just like they did two years ago with Roe v. Wade,” said Senator Markey. “This time, in overturning Chevron v. NRDC, the Court curries favor with big corporations and rewards their campaign to undermine the federal government agencies that fight to keep our air and water clean, ensure our health care system works, get guns off our streets, and protect consumers from scams and rip-offs. Now, with this ill-advised decision, judges must no longer defer to the decisions about Americans’ health, safety, and welfare made by agencies with technical and scientific expertise in their fields. MAGA extremist Republicans and their big business cronies are rejoicing as they look forward to creating a regulatory black hole that destroys fundamental protections for every American in this country. I plan to introduce legislation to protect the government’s policymaking ability that existed under Chevron that has worked for the last 40 years.”  

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