Bowling Green Today

Dr. Paul Joins Sen. Schmitt in Efforts to Retake Legislative Authority from Unaccountable Administrative State

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Loper Bright, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) joined U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) today in launching a major effort to retake legislative authority away from administrative agencies and place it back where it belongs: the Article I branch. This effort includes the filing of the Separation of Powers Restoration Act (SOPRA), the launching of a working group of Senators that will regularly meet to discuss furthering this goal, and letters to 101 agencies that have published more than 50 final rules since 2000 demanding answers on how current regulatory processes will be handled following the Loper Bright decision.

“The whims of an unaccountable administrative state should never rule our lives. The Supreme Court’s decision to dismantle Chevron deference stripped away some of the power it wrongly gave to unelected bureaucrats years ago, but there’s still work to do. It’s time for the Senate to rein in administrative overreach and restore Courts to their proper, constitutionally assigned role as the interpreters of the law. I’m proud to join Senator Schmitt in working for a more transparent, accountable, and restrained government in the post-Chevron era,” said Dr. Rand Paul.

“The Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright was a critical blow to the disastrous Chevron deference standard and represents an opportunity for Congress to retake legislative power from agencies and dismantle the administrative state. For far too long, the deck has been stacked against citizens while these all-powerful alphabet soup agencies run roughshod. Congress has abdicated its duty to legislate to nameless and faceless bureaucrats at agencies dotted around D.C.—it’s time to take that power back and return to a truly representative government. I’m proud to lead my colleagues in working to continue dismantling the administrative state following the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright,” said Senator Eric Schmitt.

The Separation of Powers Restoration Act (SOPRA) places a de novo standard of review within the Administrative Procedure Act, ending unconstitutional executive deference standards once and for all. Under a de novo standard of review, courts will weigh the merits of arguments without a deference standard, placing American citizens and businesses—either caught on the wrong side of a regulatory enforcement action or challenging agency action—on equal footing with an administrative agency in court.

Earlier this Congress, the House passed SOPRA on a party-line vote. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Mike Braun (R-IN), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), John Thune (R-SD), Ted Budd (R-NC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) co-sponsored this legislation. Representative Fitzgerald (R-WI-05) introduced the House companion bill.

In addition to SOPRA, Dr. Paul and Sen. Schmitt are establishing a Post-Chevron working group that will regularly meet to discuss how best to limit unlawful exercises of power by the administrative state following Loper Bright's monumental decision.

Lastly, Dr. Paul, Sen. Schmitt, and several fellow senators are sending oversight letters to 101 agencies that have published over 50 final rules since 2000—including departments such as Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Commerce, Securities and Exchange Commission, Transportation—to request information on ongoing rulemaking processes impacted by Loper Bright so they can better conduct oversight.

This week also saw Dr. Paul announce his intention to introduce a new version of his REINS Act aimed at further checking federal overreach.

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