FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 28, 2024
Contact: Bryce Chinault
860-426-6343
Yankee Institute Applauds Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Decision
Today, in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, the U.S. Supreme Court took a significant step to limit the overreach of unaccountable federal bureaucrats, ruling that federal courts need not defer to administrative agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous statutes. The case overrules the 1984 U.S. Supreme Court case Chevron U.S. A., Inc. v. National Resources Defense Council, Inc. Yankee Institute was an amicus in this case supporting Loper Bright Enterprises.
Yankee Institute President Carol Platt Liebau, a graduate of Harvard Law School and the first female managing editor of The Harvard Law Review, applauded the Court’s decision, saying, “Today, the Supreme Court affirmed the American principle of accountability in government. It is vital that legislatures write laws that are explicit and clear; it is the job of judges to interpret those laws. What’s always a problem is when unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats are writing, enforcing and interpreting regulations that have the effective force of law.”
Loper Bright case centered on a 2020 regulation promulgated by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that required Loper Bright Enterprises (a group of commercial fishermen) to pay a federal employee about $700 per vessel, per day, or else face penalties including a ban on conducting business. The lawsuit asserted that the NMFS lacked authority to pass the rule because the governing statute did not provide for it.
Liebau noted, “‘Discovering’ a new government power within a decades-old law to impose a tax on hard-working Americans is the essence of tyranny. Overturning Chevron means that Congress will have to stop over-delegating its responsibilities to federal agencies — and federal bureaucrats will have to think twice before they try to seize powers they aren’t supposed to have.
As a result of this holding, people across Connecticut — and the United States — will wake up tomorrow with just a little more freedom to follow their dreams, and build a more prosperous future for their families,” Liebau concluded.
About Yankee Institute
Yankee Institute is a research and citizen organization founded in 1984 under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. YI is committed to empowering Connecticut’s people to forge a brighter future for themselves and their families.
