NEWSWEEK 08/14/24
By Michael Shank and US Congressman Steve Cohen
Americans may have heard a lot lately about the “Chevron decision” in the news, though most probably wouldn’t be able to describe what it is exactly. It’s not household knowledge yet. And while Chevron might be a household name for folks who get gas there, the Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down the legal principle of Chevron deference will soon become relevant and potentially a risk to every household in America.
The recent decision Loper Bright v. Raimondo, a direct byproduct of former president Donald Trump’s stacking of the Court, overturned 40 years of precedent under which America’s federal government, its agencies, and scientists used their expertise to regulate things—like toxic chemicals that are harmful to human health—without having to go to court each time to interpret an aspect of a given law.
As of this summer, however, that is no longer standard practice. The Loper Bright decision turns over key decision-making powers to courts, judges, and clerks who don’t have the scientific expertise to protect Americans from toxic chemicals and other dangers.
Increasingly partisan judges and their clerks, who are equally unqualified in the subject matter of a given federal rule, will now have the power to block actions they don’t like. We’ve seen it happen before. In one opinion, Supreme Court Justices wrote that laughing gas, or nitrous oxide, was the chemical key in reducing ozone pollution, when it wasn’t even close to the right chemical compound. Justice Neil Gorsuch even published the opinion online before catching the error hours later.
That’s a serious problem, which is why vigilance and due diligence are critical right now. This will quickly become an American household problem in three vital areas in particular.
The first is food safety. Every year, food-borne diseases affect nearly 50 million people in the U.S., hospitalize over 125,000, and kill approximately 3,000 Americans. These deaths and hospitalizations are preventable. The Food Safety Modernization Act is designed to prevent food-borne disease, but after the Loper Bright ruling, the experts at the Food and Drug Administration won’t be able to do their job protecting Americans from sickness, hospitalization, and death. Food industry lobbyists can simply take them to court where unqualified judges can decide, irrespective of the fact that they and their clerks have no expertise in food safety. Unfortunately, this opens the floodgates to more food-borne illnesses, not less.
The second issue is water safety. Over the last few decades the U.S. has set up, and bipartisan administrations have supported, protections like the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act. These are good things. They help keep us safe. And we depend on federal scientists to address toxic contaminants, forever chemicals, and other risks to our drinking water. That’s why we hire professional scientists to work for us, the taxpayers, to keep us safe. But after Loper Bright, this critical work will be near impossible and litigation will become much more common, challenging drinking water safeguards that Americans have supported for years.
Finally, the Loper Bright decision threatens our air safety and quality. For over 50 years the Clean Air Act has given scientists in federal agencies the parameters to put pollution controls in place at industrial facilities so that Americans living nearby or downwind are not breathing deadly pollutants, particulates, and toxins. This is smart and safe. No community deserves dirty air, which causes a whole host of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, among other problems. For years, scientists in federal administrations have been able to leverage their training and expertise to protect American public health. But thanks to the Supreme Court, that is no longer possible. Now it’s up to unqualified judges and clerks, again with no expertise in this subject matter, to decide how much air pollution a state or industry can emit.
In short, because of the Supreme Court’s recent decision, our food, our water, and our air could see more contaminants and chemicals, more pollutants and toxins in the near future. That should be a huge red flag for anyone who cares about their health, their neighbor’s health, or their community’s health. Loper Bright will impact every household in America.
The fight is on, then, for a safer America as the courts will soon start undercutting the federal government’s ability to protect our food, water, air, and more. That means we need more public pressure on the private sector to do what’s right for Americans’ health. We need more individual awareness and action to ensure those in Congress can check polluters’ bad behavior. And we need to make sure those who are appointing judges, and the clerks who work for them, have Americans’ best health interests in mind.
When the public can no longer rely on government experts to ensure clean air and clean water, the only winners are polluters and the private industry that, without conscience, backs them. A lot is at stake. Now is no time for deference—it’s time for due diligence by all of us. Our food, water, and air—and as a result, our health, livelihoods and futures—are at risk.
Steve Cohen represents Tennessee’s Ninth Congressional District in the House of Representatives. Michael Shank is director of engagement at the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance and adjunct faculty at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs.
