WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today requested a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of the Chevron doctrine’s impact on agriculture producers and landowners in rural states. Rounds sent a letter to GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro asking for an analysis of key judicial opinions that utilized the Chevron doctrine, specifically relating to the Departments of Agriculture, Energy and Interior, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency.
“The Chevron decision has governed the relationship between agencies and courts for the last 40 years,” wrote Rounds. “The longstanding deference applied under Chevron has broadened the scope of administrative authority. As industries such as agriculture, mining and energy production are increasingly subject to a growing number of agency rules, the private industry has resorted to settling regulatory disputes in court. The expansion of the administrative state has precipitated this trend. To understand the true impact of the recent overturn of Chevron, it is necessary to comprehend the past application of agency deference.”
In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion that overturned the Chevron doctrine which previously had required courts to uphold a federal agency’s interpretation of certain statutes.
Rounds has been pushing for federal regulatory reform since being sworn into the Senate in 2015. In August 2024, Rounds reintroduced the RESTORE Resolution of 2024, which would establish a Joint Select Committee to conduct a comprehensive review of rules enacted by federal agencies.
Read the full text of the letter HERE.
