Lesson 2: Regulations Versus Statutes
Topic 2: Experts Make Judgments With Public Input
The statutes authorizing the development of U.S. animal and plant health regulations explicitly state that those regulations should be based on science. This topic describes why Congress delegated authority to determine what actions should be taken based on the available science to the expert judgment of scientists in APHIS.
Objective:
- Describe how and why the United States uses expert judgment to develop regulations
Both the PPA and AHPA include statements of Congress’ findings that led to their enactment. Congress states in the PPA that:
“…it is the responsibility of the Secretary of the USDA to facilitate imports of agricultural products and other commodities that pose a risk of harboring plant pests or noxious weeds in ways that will reduce, to the extent practicable, as determined by the Secretary, the risk of dissemination of plant pests or noxious weeds.”
7 U.S. Code Sec. 7701
Congress states in the AHPA that:
“…regulation by the Secretary and cooperation by the Secretary with foreign countries, States or other jurisdictions, or persons are necessary to prevent and eliminate burdens on interstate commerce and foreign commerce; to regulate effectively interstate commerce and foreign commerce; and to protect the agriculture, environment, economy, and health and welfare of the people of the United States.”
7 U.S. Code Sec. 8301
However, Congress did not specify what actions were needed to meet those goals. It delegated authority to the Secretary of the USDA, who in turn has delegated that authority to APHIS.
Why did Congress delegate this authority? Most members of Congress do not have the ability to evaluate highly technical information regarding animal and plant health risks. If they did not delegate authority, they would have to spend days studying the information, leaving them without time to address the regular work of Congress.
Through its membership in the IPPC and OIE, the United States has committed to base its decisions on science. Therefore, both the PPA and AHPA indicate that the Secretary of the USDA should use sound science when making decisions. Congress relies on the judgment of experts to evaluate the science and determine what regulations need to be put in place. Plant health scientists and veterinarians are in the best positions to decide what science is sound and what policy should be developed to best meet the goals of the statutes.
This strategy ensures that members of Congress do not need to educate themselves on technical plant and animal health issues or revisit those issues again as new science and new technologies become available. If members of Congress had to do this, decisions would be greatly delayed, if they were made at all, as the members tried to fit them in with their other responsibilities.
Congress delegated authority to the Secretary of the USDA to regulate animal and plant health issues, and the Secretary delegated that authority to APHIS, to ensure that decisions could be made in a timely manner by qualified experts to meet the overall goals expressed in the PPA and AHPA.
To continue, select the Lesson Summary from the Topics menu above or click here.