WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, TechFreedom, Americans for Tax Reform, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and a coalition of other free-market organizations called on Congress to restore the balance of power among the three branches of the federal government. Their coalition letter urged passage of the Separation of Powers Restoration Act, which would put an end to “Chevron deference,” a Supreme Court precedent that has allowed administrative agencies to claim broad authority to impose far-reaching regulations, such as the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order.

The letter states:

SOPRA would restore the Judiciary’s constitutional role in checking agency overreach and preventing excessive regulations from impeding innovation and economic growth. Specifically, the bill would clarify that the Administrative Procedure Act requires courts to conduct a new review of relevant questions of law when evaluating agency regulations — rather than simply deferring to the agency’s judgment.

“Ambiguity in law shouldn’t mean that regulators get a blank check to rewrite statutes, redefine words and regulate however they see fit,” said Tom Struble, Policy Counsel at TechFreedom. “The FCC’s Open Internet Order is just one of many instances where Chevron deference has enabled gross regulatory overreach. SOPRA would prevent administrative agencies from effectively re-writing legislation to suit their purposes — often driven by politics — and restore legislative power to the American people’s elected representatives in Congress.”

The letter is signed by: TechFreedom, Americans for Tax Reform, Competitive Enterprise Institute, American Commitment, American Consumer Institute, Center for Freedom and Prosperity, Civitas Institute, Digital Liberty, Free the People, Independent Women’s Forum, Institute for Liberty, Less Government, Mississippi Center for Public Policy, National Taxpayers Union, Protect Internet Freedom, Rio Grande Foundation, Taxpayers Protection Alliance and Tech Knowledge.

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We can be reached for comment at media@techfreedom.org. See more of our work on Title II, including:

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