{
  "id": "R44954",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "R",
  "number": "R44954",
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  "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com",
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      "title": "Chevron Deference: A Primer",
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      "id": 585989,
      "date": "2017-09-19",
      "retrieved": "2020-01-02T14:05:20.213668",
      "title": "Chevron Deference: A Primer",
      "summary": "When Congress delegates regulatory functions to an administrative agency, that agency\u2019s ability to act is governed by the statutes that authorize it to carry out these delegated tasks. Accordingly, in the course of its work, an agency must interpret these statutory authorizations to determine what it is required to do and to ascertain the limits of its authority. The scope of agencies\u2019 statutory authority is sometimes tested through litigation. When courts review challenges to agency actions, they give special consideration to agencies\u2019 interpretations of the statutes they administer. Judicial review of such interpretations is governed by the two-step framework set forth in Chevron U.S.A. Inc., v. Natural Resources Defense Council. \nThe Chevron framework of review usually applies if Congress has given an agency the general authority to make rules with the force of law. If Chevron applies, a court asks at step one whether Congress directly addressed the precise issue before the court, using traditional tools of statutory construction. If the statute is clear on its face, the court must effectuate Congress\u2019s stated intent. However, if the court concludes instead that a statute is silent or ambiguous with respect to the specific issue, the court proceeds to Chevron\u2019s second step. At step two, courts defer to an agency\u2019s reasonable interpretation of the statute. \nApplication of the Chevron doctrine in practice has become increasingly complex. Courts and scholars alike debate which types of agency interpretations are entitled to Chevron deference, what interpretive tools courts should use to determine whether a statute is clear or ambiguous, and how closely courts should scrutinize agency interpretations for reasonableness. A number of judges and legal commentators have even questioned whether Chevron should be overruled entirely. Moreover, Chevron is a judicially created doctrine that rests in large part upon a presumption about legislative intent, and Congress could modify the courts\u2019 use of the doctrine by displacing this underlying presumption.\nThis report discusses the Chevron decision, explains the circumstances in which the Chevron doctrine applies, explores how courts apply the two steps of Chevron, and highlights some criticisms of the doctrine, with an eye towards the potential future of Chevron deference.",
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  "topics": [
    "Constitutional Questions"
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}