Cattle producers celebrate Supreme Court decision to rein in administrative overreach

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision in the case Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo—a decision that reins in the legal concept of Chevron deference and reduces overreaching regulations from federal agencies that lack congressional authority.

“Our elected officials in Congress should be making our laws, not unelected bureaucrats at federal agencies,” said NCBA President Mark Eisele, a Wyoming cattle rancher. “Cattle producers have experienced numerous instances of federal agencies enacting overreaching regulations on our farms and ranches, exceeding their authority granted by Congress. I am glad the Supreme Court is reining in these federal agencies and putting power back in the hands of those elected to represent us in Washington.”

While the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo does not directly involve cattle production, the case challenged a legal concept known as Chevron deference, which gives federal agencies the authority to interpret statues they consider vague. Chevron deference takes its name from the Supreme Court case Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council where the court decided that as long as Congress has not directly spoken on an issue and legal statutes are open to interpretation, courts should defer to federal agencies. Federal agencies have frequently used Chevron deference to implement a number of regulations without specific legislation being passed by Congress.

“In the last four decades, Congress has ceded authority to unelected federal bureaucrats who make the regulations that impact farmers and ranchers every day,” said NCBA Chief Counsel Mary-Thomas Hart. “Long-term, this decision will impact almost every regulation that NCBA has worked on. The decision puts Congress back in the driver’s seat for crafting policy, reins in the administrative state, and strengthens accountability by ensuring that the people we elect are the ones crafting our nation’s laws.”

NCBA previously joined other national agricultural and business organizations in submitting an amicus brief to the Supreme Court arguing for the overruling of Chevron deference.