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. That major 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 Chevrondeference standard and represents an opportunity to 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 to dismantle the administrative state following the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright,” said Senator Eric Schmitt.

BACKGROUND:

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 the argument without a deference standard to either side, placing American citizens and businesses—either caught on the wrong side of a regulatory enforcement action or challenging the validity of agency action—on an equal footing in court with an administrative agency. Earlier this Congress, the House passed the same bill 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 to SOPRA.

You can read the Separation of Powers Restoration Act HERE.

In addition to SOPRA, Dr. Paul and Sen. Schmitt are establishing a Post-Chevron working group, which will regularly meet to discuss how to assess the monumental decision in Loper Bright, how to best limit the unlawful exercise of power by the administrative state, and how the Senate can more effectively legislate on matters that regularly would’ve been left up to agency deference. Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Mike Braun (R-IN), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ted Budd (R-NC), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Thune (R-SD), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) are all part of the working group.

Lastly, Dr. Paul, Sen. Schmitt, and several of their fellow senators are in the process of sending oversight letters to 101 agencies that have published over 50 final rules since the year 2000. Those agencies will include the Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Commerce, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Transportation, and many others. In the letters, the Senators will ask for more information on ongoing rulemaking, civil enforcement actions, and adjudications by said agencies and how the Loper Bright decision impacts all of those actions moving forward, so that the Senators can better conduct oversight over those agencies. Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Mike Braun (R-IN), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ted Budd (R-NC), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Mike Lee (R-UT), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and John Thune (R-SD) all joined these letters.

You can read an example of the oversight letter HERE.

Along with these efforts, Dr. Paul participated in a bicameral press conference this past week to discuss the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright, which overturned the longstanding Chevron doctrine. You can watch his remarks at the press conference HERE.

Also, this week, Dr. Paul announced he will introduce a new version of his REINS Act which will further check federal overreach and ensure Americans have the tools needed to defend their rights against the administrative state.

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

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