Supreme Court Ruling Puts Consumers at Risk

Group says decision will cement capture of regulators by industry

A consumer advocacy group says a recent Supreme Court ruling will make it easier for regulated industries to capture the agencies responsible for policing them.

Americans for Financial Reform(AFR) released a statement denouncing the Court's ruling in the Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo case.

The case concerned the need for regulators to maintain independence from influence by the industries they regulate. The Court ruled in favor of industry, thus removing previously-required distance in relationships between a regulator and the industry that body is to regulate.

AFR explains the potential harms:

“Congress has appropriately given latitude to federal agencies to protect the public and the public interest, and the public relies on them to provide clarity, address emerging issues, and ensure safety standards in highly technical policy areas,” said Patrick Woodall, managing director for policy at Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund. “Dedicated lifelong agency staff, scientists, and technical experts bring decades of expertise and experience that simply cannot be adequately replaced by a federal judge, least of all the ideologically pro-industry ones that are eager to stop any and all regulations.”

The group warns that predators in the financial marketplace may take advantage of the Loper Bright ruling to due to further damage to consumers without fear of penalty.

“There is every reason to expect that this ruling will embolden Wall Street, predatory lenders, and other industries to litigate against even the most common-sense consumer protections,” said Christine Chen Zinner, consumer policy counsel at AFR-EF. “The Fifth Circuit has not been shy about vacating regulations that are plainly legal under laws aimed at protecting the public interest. Now the Supreme Court has handed those judges yet another tool to stop those rules.”

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