Examining Agency Use of Deference, Part II

Last April, this Subcommittee held a hearing to examine the proper role of judicial review in the regulatory process, in particular, the proper amount of deference afforded to agencies by federal courts.  To follow up on that hearing, the Subcommittee held this hearing specifically on the Chevron deference.  Through the regime developed in Chevron v. NRDC, agencies understand that courts will defer to their reasonable interpretation of statutory ambiguities which raises fundamental questions about separation of powers and judicial independence.   This hearing examined Chevron’s constitutionality, use by the courts, and impact on agency rulemaking, as well as explored Chevron deference’s future by asking whether the Chevron two-step method is the best tool for courts to use when reviewing agency interpretation of a statute.