Opinion ID: 516409
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: deference to the agency

Text: 65 The Secretary's final argument invokes the well established rule that an agency charged with the enforcement of a statute is entitled to substantial deference in its interpretation of that statute. The Supreme Court, however, has repeatedly held that deference to an agency's decision must be tempered by an analysis of the language, purpose, and history of the statute. See, e.g., Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms v. Federal Labor Relations Authority, 464 U.S. 89, 98 n. 8, 104 S.Ct. 439, 444 n. 8, 78 L.Ed.2d 195 (1983) (When an agency's decision is premised on its understanding of a specific congressional intent ... it engages in the quintessential judicial function of deciding what a statute means. In that case, the agency's interpretation ... may be influential, but it cannot bind a court); FEC v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, 454 U.S. 27, 32, 102 S.Ct. 38, 42, 70 L.Ed.2d 23 (1981) (the courts must reject administrative constructions of the statute ... that are inconsistent with the statutory mandate or that frustrate the policy that Congress sought to implement); Teamsters v. Daniel, 439 U.S. 551, 566 n. 20, 99 S.Ct. 790, 800 n. 20, 58 L.Ed.2d 808 (1979) ([D]eference is constrained by our obligation to honor the clear meaning of a statute, as revealed by its language, purpose, and history.); NLRB v. Brown, 380 U.S. 278, 291-292, 85 S.Ct. 980, 988, 13 L.Ed.2d 839 (1965) (Reviewing courts are not obliged to stand aside and rubber-stamp ... administrative decisions that they deem inconsistent with a statutory mandate or that frustrate the congressional policy underlying a statute.... [C]ourts would abdicate their responsibility if they did not fully review such administrative decisions.); American Ship Building v. NLRB, 380 U.S. 300, 318, 85 S.Ct. 955, 967, 13 L.Ed.2d 855 (1965) (The deference owed to an expert tribunal cannot be allowed to slip into a judicial inertia which results in the unauthorized assumption by an agency of major policy decisions properly made by Congress.). In addition, the Administrative Procedure Act states that: 66 [T]he reviewing court shall decide all relevant questions of law, interpret constitutional and statutory provisions, and determine the meaning or applicability of the terms of an agency action. The reviewing court shall.... 67 (2) hold unlawful and set aside agency action, findings, and conclusions found to be-- 68 (A) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.... 69 5 U.S.C. Sec. 706. 70 We have also directly addressed this point. See St. Luke's Hospital v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 810 F.2d 325, 331-332 (1st Cir.1987) (deference to the agency's view of a statute is appropriate only if the statute is ambiguous; even if ambiguous, the weight given to the agency's judgment will turn on (i) whether or not the agency knows more about what Congress had in mind than the court, taking into account the thoroughness, validity, and consistency of the agency decision, (ii) whether Congress delegated the law-declaring function to the agency, and (iii) whether the agency's interpretation is wrong vis-a-vis the language and purpose of the statute); Mayburg v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 740 F.2d at 106 (deference is not complete and the agency ultimately must depend upon the persuasive power of its argument.... [I]n this instance, HHS has not interpreted the statute as Congress meant.). 71 These general admonitions for judicial review of agency decisions are even more exacting when the courts are faced with inconsistent agency positions, as in the instant case. See, e.g., Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421, 107 S.Ct. 1207, 1221 n. 30, 94 L.Ed.2d 434 (1987) (An agency interpretation of a relevant provision which conflicts with the agency's earlier interpretation is 'entitled to considerably less deference' than a consistently held agency view.); Southeastern Community College v. Davis, 442 U.S. 397, 411-412 n. 11, 99 S.Ct. 2361, 2370 n. 11, 60 L.Ed.2d 980 (1979) ([T]he assertion by HEW of the authority to promulgate any regulations ... has been neither consistent nor longstanding.... This fact substantially diminishes the deference to be given to HEW's present interpretation of the statute.); General Electric Co. v. Gilbert, 429 U.S. 125, 143, 97 S.Ct. 401, 411, 50 L.Ed.2d 343 (1976) (We have declined to follow administrative guidelines in the past where they conflicted with earlier pronouncements of the agency.); Skidmore v. Swift and Co., 323 U.S. 134, 140, 65 S.Ct. 161, 164, 89 L.Ed. 124 (1944) (The weight of such [an administrative] judgment in a particular case will depend upon the thoroughness evident in its consideration, the validity of its reasoning, its consistency with earlier and later pronouncements, and all those factors which give it power to persuade, if lacking power to control.). 72 The First Circuit has also expressed a clear position on the effect of inconsistent agency positions. See St. Luke's Hospital, 810 F.2d at 331 (Here, the agency has changed its views, at some times taking the position that we now find correct.... This inconsistency detracts considerably from the force of the Secretary's present view....); Mayburg v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 740 F.2d at 106 (An interpretation that has proved to be administratively workable because it is consistent and longstanding is typically more persuasive....). 73 While the Secretary points to a line of cases purportedly requiring the court to defer to the agency, these cases also counsel that deference is appropriate only if the agency's interpretation is consistent with the language, purpose, and legislative history of the statute. Lukhard v. Reed, 481 U.S. 368, 107 S.Ct. 1807, 1813-1814, 95 L.Ed.2d 328 (1987) (Virginia's treatment of personal injury awards is consistent with the administrative and legislative history of the AFDC statute and thus entitled to deference); Connecticut Department of Income Maintenance v. Heckler, 471 U.S. 524, 528, 105 S.Ct. 2210, 2212, 85 L.Ed.2d 577 (1985) (In our view ... the State's position is foreclosed by the plain language of the statute, by the Secretary's reasonable and longstanding interpretation of the Act, and by the Act's legislative history.); Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. NRDC, 467 U.S. 837, 845, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 2783, 81 L.Ed.2d 694 (1984) (if a statute is ambiguous, an agency's interpretation should not be disturbed unless it appears from the statute or its legislative history that the accommodation is not one that Congress would have sanctioned, quoting United States v. Shimer, 367 U.S. 374, 383, 81 S.Ct. 1554, 1560, 6 L.Ed.2d 908 (1961)); Blum v. Bacon, 457 U.S. 132, 142, 102 S.Ct. 2355, 2361, 72 L.Ed.2d 728 (1982) (In light of the strong support in the legislative history for the Secretary's conclusion ... we find such deference particularly appropriate in this case.); Schweiker v. Hogan, 457 U.S. 569, 586, 102 S.Ct. 2597, 2607, 73 L.Ed.2d 227 (1982) (The legislative history did not justify a departure from the literal language of the Social Security Act.). 74 In light of the repeated and longstanding pronouncements on the issue of deference when an agency's decision is at odds with the language, purpose, and history of a statute, we must conclude that in the instant case, deference should not be accorded to the Secretary's interpretation. The language, purpose, and history of the AFDC statute, as well as the inconsistent regulations, proposals, and statements by the agency, all counsel against deferring to the agency in this case. Deference is not appropriate when an agency's interpretation has radically and repeatedly alternated between polar extremes and which in the time frame of the instant lawsuit had settled on a particular interpretation which defies common sense. The agency has abused its discretion in promulgating a regulation which is directly contrary to the congressional mandate of the statute. Under the guise of interpretation, the Secretary has effected a fundamental change in the purpose of the statute.