House Judiciary Committee Debates Separation of Powers Restoration Act

Markup of the Separation of Powers Restoration Act

• ⚖️ The House Judiciary Committee convened to mark up HR605, the Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2025, aiming to restore the balance of power between governmental branches.
• 🏛️ The bill seeks to codify the Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright, which overturned the Chevron deference doctrine, requiring courts to exercise independent judgment when reviewing agency actions.

The Impact of Chevron Deference

• 📜 For decades, Chevron deference allowed unelected bureaucrats to wield significant legislative and judicial power through agency regulations, often with little accountability.
• 📊 In 2023, executive branch agencies finalized over 3,000 rules, vastly outnumbering the less than 70 laws passed by Congress, leading to an estimated annual cost of $2.1 trillion in federal regulation.
• 💡 The Chevron doctrine, initially favored by conservatives, has seen its role reversed, with current conservatives advocating for its overturn and liberals now defending it.

Arguments for HR605

• 🚀 Proponents argue that HR605 is crucial to solidify the judiciary's duty to review agency action and prevent the executive branch from legislating outside clear congressional direction.
• 🛠️ The act would ensure judges independently interpret laws rather than deferring to agencies, preventing a consolidation of power within the executive branch and safeguarding individual liberty.
• 📈 Codifying Loper Bright is seen as a necessary step to prevent future courts from inventing new deference doctrines and to ensure stability in the legal system.

Concerns and Proposed Compromises

• ⚠️ A significant point of contention was the lack of a statute of limitations for challenging agency rules, which some argued could lead to perpetual litigation and instability.
• 🤝 A bipartisan compromise was discussed, which would have codified Loper Bright while also establishing guardrails against indefinite challenges to regulations, but this ultimately collapsed.
• ⚖️ Some members expressed concern that codifying Loper Bright could undermine agency expertise and lead to the rollback of important, life-saving regulations, such as those related to environmental protection and public health.

Committee Vote and Next Steps

• ✅ The committee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute to HR605, expanding its scope to include interpretive rules and other agency guidance documents.
• 🗳️ Following the amendment adoption, the bill, as amended, was ordered to be reported favorably to the House with 15 votes in favor and 12 against.