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Judging the Environment judicial nominations photo
 

A project tracking federal judicial nominations and courts.


Issue

The Commerce Clause

In recent years, a growing block of Supreme Court justices have sought to significantly reduce the Constitutional authority of Congress under the Commerce Clause to enact environmental safeguards.  Because almost every major federal environmental statute relies on Commerce Clause authority, the Supreme Court's rulings limiting the scope of that authority have triggered a flood of challenges from corporate polluters and developers to environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

 

 

 

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