Tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Pat Leahy (D-VT), will hold a hearing on Regulatory Preemption: Are Federal Agencies Usurping Congressional and State Authority? Expect Georgetown Law Professor David Vladeck, in particular, to defend stronger state laws. This hearing will focus not on express preemption by Congress but on the recent trend of federal agencies asserting that compliance with their modest rules grants corporate wrongdoers immunity from state common law claims, including for injury or death. It's a dangerous trend -- especially when the agencies claim it without Congressional authority -- as we have noted.

Syndicated columnist Cindy Skrzycki has an opener for the hearing in the Washington Post. Her story is unfortunately titled and tilted toward the notion that Trial Lawyers on the Offensive in Fight Against Preemptive Rules. This isn't a fight about trial lawyers. It's about the fundamental police power reserved to the several states to protect consumer and worker health and safety. Here's our PIRG page on state preemption.