Americans for Prosperity Foundation provides statement to House Veteran Affairs Committee on implications of Loper Bright decision

December 18, 2024 | The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (HVAC) held a hearing on Wednesday titled “Restoring Congressional Power over VA After Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.”

AFP Foundation sent a statement for the record to the Committee to explain the significance of the Loper Bright decision and show how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has relied on Chevron deference to defend policies that hurt veterans.

In Loper Bright, the U.S. Supreme Court ended the Chevron-deference doctrine. For just over forty years, federal courts were bound by Chevron to abdicate their constitutional role and defer to agency interpretations of the law, at least whenever a statute was silent or ambiguous.  In practice, however, that kind of deference permitted agencies to engage in egregious overreach, often at the expense of veterans.

The statement details several cases for the Committee in which the VA relied on Chevron deference to deny veterans benefits Congress intended them to have. Looking forward, AFP Foundation provides the Committee with areas to explore to ensure full implementation of Loper Bright.

AFP Foundation counsel Ryan Mulvey stated, “The end of Chevron deference opens the door to an exciting period in administrative law. Congress should take the opportunity to reevaluate how and why unelected bureaucrats at agencies have come to regulate so many aspects of Americans’ daily lives.  This is no less true at the VA, which needs to be held accountable for providing the benefits Congress has bestowed on our veterans.”

Read the full statement.

Watch the HVAC hearing.