5. Did Schoolhouse Rock Lie to Us?

About this episode

This episode discusses the current state of lawmaking in Congress and the implications of the Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision on agency authority.

A generation of schoolchildren learned from Schoolhouse Rock that bills become laws through careful committee work, open debate, and thoughtful compromise. But as this episode of UnCommon Law makes clear, that tidy version of lawmaking no longer reflects reality. Instead, leaders often craft omnibus bills in back rooms and create deliberately vague laws that punt hard decisions to federal agencies. But with the Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision ending 40 years of judicial deference to agencies, critics say Congress can no longer hide behind this broken system. In this season finale, we hear from a current and a former US senator on opposite sides of the aisle who both argue that Congress must reclaim its constitutional role. They agree that decades of delegating authority to agencies has weakened the legislature, but they diverge on what should happen next. Should lawmakers strip out vague catchall words to limit agency discretion? Or should Congress work more closely with agencies to ensure workable, expert-informed legislation? But can a deeply polarized institution actually change? While both senators agree on some solutions, they differ sharply on whether a different…

People in this episode

Host: Matthew S. Schwartz

Guests: Sen. Eric Schmitt, Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp

Topics covered

• lawmaking
• Congress
• politics
• legislation
• Supreme Court
• agency authority

Keywords

• Congress
• lawmaking
• Supreme Court
• agencies
• legislation
• political climate
• bipartisanship

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bloomberg Industry Group

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