October 03, 2024

Merkley, Wyden Co-Sponsor Legislation to Revitalize Congressional Check on Rogue Supreme Court Decisions

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden have joined legislation that would revitalize Congress’s ability to check the Supreme Court’s inaccurate interpretation of federal law and restore rights by statute that the Court has taken away.

“The Supreme Court is making life-altering decisions threatening Americans’ reproductive freedom, workers’ bargaining power, voting rights, clean air, and so much more—Congress needs a process to quickly and effectively respond to Supreme Court decisions from these rogue MAGA justices,” said Senator Merkley. “The Supreme Court Review Act is a great step to ensure that the highest court in our land serves ‘We the People’ not just the powerful.”

“With the help of Senate Republicans, Donald Trump spent his time in office packing our nation’s highest courts with right-wing extremists willing to do the bidding of special interests and legislate from the bench,” said Senator Wyden, who recently introduced sweeping reforms to restore public trust in the Supreme Court. “America was founded on checks and balances, and it’s time to restore that balance by putting a much-needed check on a power-hungry Supreme Court.”

The Supreme Court Review Act would help ensure that the constitutionally-delegated power to make policy remains with Congress, not the Court, by creating streamlined procedures through which Congress can exercise its existing power to amend statutes or create federal statutory rights.? Congress has already created a process for expeditiously responding to agency rules under the Congressional Review Act, and the Supreme Court Review Act would do the same for Supreme Court decisions. The legislation would:

  1. Codify a process for passing new laws in response to Supreme Court decisions that interpret federal statutes or roll back constitutional rights;
  2. Expedite procedures for the Senate to pass these laws by a simple majority;
  3. Limit this process to recent Court rulings and exclude non-germane changes to federal law to prevent abuse; and
  4. Ensure that members of the minority party in the Senate have an opportunity to propose alternative updates to the law.

This legislation was led by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV). Alongside Merkley and Wyden, the bill was cosponsored by Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Cory Booker (D-NJ).

Full text of the bill is available here.

?

###