EXPERTS Act Would Restore and Modernize the Federal Regulatory System, Which Has Been Corrupted by Trump, Courts, and Corporate Lobbyists
For Immediate Release: November 19, 2025
Contact: David Rosen, drosen@citizen.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Leaders of the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards endorsed the EXPERTS Act, reintroduced today by U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and 69 cosponsors in the U.S. House and by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and 12 cosponsors in the U.S. Senate.
In the wake of decades of neglect and underinvestment, the Trump administration, the Supreme Court, Republicans in Congress, and corporate lobbyists are attacking critical safeguards and dismantling our regulatory system. The EXPERTS Act would make the federal regulatory system more accountable, transparent, effective, and responsive to the public. The bill was formerly known as the Stop Corporate Capture Act.
Below are quotes from leaders of the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards calling on Congress to pass the legislation.
Rachel Weintraub, executive director, Coalition for Sensible Safeguards:
“The EXPERTS Act is urgently needed to respond to the rampant deregulatory efforts happening now. The bill is a comprehensive blueprint for modernizing, improving, and strengthening the regulatory system to better protect the public. The EXPERTS Act would enhance our government’s ability to deliver results for workers, consumers, public health, and our environment. And it would increase participation so that people – not just big corporations – can weigh in on potential rules that affect them.
“For most of the last century, policy, scientific, and technical experts were in charge of writing the rules that protect American workers, consumers, families, and our environment – and it made all of us better off. Expert regulators brought us cleaner air and water, safer food and consumer products, fairer workplaces and markets, and much more. Every year going back decades, studies showed the benefits to the public of new and existing regulations outweighing the costs to industry by a factor of 10-to-1 or more. This is what trusting the experts got us, and it’s what the EXPERTS Act will restore.”
Lisa Gilbert, co-president, Public Citizen and CSS co-chair:
“The EXPERTS Act is the marquee legislation to improve our regulatory system. The bill aims directly at the corporate capture of our rulemaking process, brings transparency to the regulatory review process, and imposes a $250,000 fine on corporations that submit false information, among other things. The bill is essential law for the future of our health, safety, environment, and workers. Public Citizen urges swift passage in both chambers.”
Susan Weinstock, CEO, Consumer Federation of America and CSS co-chair:
“Consumer protections depend on appropriate regulations. These regulations must be developed in a fair and transparent manner, with public input, and not bought and paid for by industry participants that may be peddling unsafe products and services. Consumers depend on the expertise of government agencies to determine what will best serve consumers and the economy. The EXPERTS Act will ensure that consumer protection regulations are promulgated based on facts, not the whims of politics.”
Jody Calemine, government affairs director, AFL-CIO:
“Working people rely on regulations every day to require employers to fix safety hazards, pay workers, and provide benefits. However, over time, big corporations have been allowed to make it increasingly difficult and complicated to issue and keep regulations. And there are moves underway to give big corporations an even more outsized voice in the regulatory process – to further drown out the voices of workers and experts focused on the public’s interest. The EXPERTS Act would push back and help level the playing field for working people, so that the regulations we need to protect our lives and rights on the job can move forward and be enforced.”
James Goodwin, interim co-executive director and policy director, Center for Progressive Reform:
“The public rightly expects and deserves a government that works for us. While often overlooked, our federal regulatory system is what does a lot of that hard work by keeping our workplaces safe, protecting our bank accounts against cheats, and holding polluters accountable.
“While the laws governing our regulatory system have served us well for nearly 80 years, we’ve learned a lot in that time about how they could be improved to make the system even more effective and more responsive to the public it serves. The EXPERTS Act combines all that learning into one comprehensive package, designed to deliver a regulatory system that works for us today — and 50 years from now. The EXPERTS Act’s reforms would make it easier for ordinary Americans to have their voices heard on the policies that matter most to them. They clear out or streamline existing procedures so that regulatory programs can start producing results even quicker. The EXPERTS Act is a win for good government by the people, of the people, and for the people.”
Dr. Jen Jones, director of the Center for Science and Democracy, Union of Concerned Scientists:
“With the Supreme Court’s decision last year dismantling Chevron deference, judges without scientific training are now making technical decisions that should rest with agency experts. This threatens decades of science-based protections that Americans rely on. The EXPERTS Act would restore the longstanding principle that prevents judges from allowing their political preferences to influence decisions involving regulations. The bill would require courts to defer to agencies that Congress empowered to protect the public.
“The scale of today’s attacks on science is alarming. The result is weakened accountability and a greater chance that junk science – not evidence – guides decisions. The EXPERTS Act would restore the proper role of scientific expertise in federal decision-making.”
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