Amicus Briefs
Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania
CASE SUMMARY
NCLA stated that in adopting the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Pub. L. 111-148 (2010), Congress improperly delegated to the administrative state the power to write laws governing the conduct of health insurance providers. Administrative agencies responded to that delegation by adopting a contraceptive-coverage requirement Congress itself never enacted. Later concluding that the requirement substantially burdened the exercise of religion by some employers, those agencies expanded a religious exemption from the requirement.
While the agencies lack constitutional authority to exercise legislative power vested in Congress, NCLA urged reversal on the theory that administrative relief is at least as constitutionally appropriate as administrative constraint; they travel together.
NCLA was also concerned that administrative agencies—because they focus their attention on a narrow range of delegated tasks and are not directly answerable to voters—are far more likely than Congress itself to systematically undervalue the constitutionally protected religious liberties of Americans.
NCLA asked the Court to correct for that undervaluation when it addresses administrative-law issues.
In a victory for NCLA, the U.S. Supreme Court on July 8, 2020, upheld the Executive Branch’s decision to expand the religious exemption from its contraceptive-coverage requirement.
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RELEVANT MATERIALS
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PRESS RELEASES
Little Sisters Supreme Court Decision Preserves Religious Liberty but Does Not Reach Delegation Issue
July 8, 2020
NCLA Amicus Brief Defends Religious Exemption to Federal Obamacare Regulations
March 9, 2020 | Read More