FS Credit Opportunities Corp. v. Saba Capital Master Fund, Ltd. · ¶98

To be sure, “legislative history is not the law.” Epic Sys tems Corp. v. Lewis, 584 U. S. 497, 523 (2018). And no one is arguing that legislative history should trump unambiguous statutory text. But when a statute’s text needs clarification, discarding legislative history turns the Court’s assessment of Congress’s intent into a transparently empty gesture. Even worse, it inappropriately elevates the Justices’ own power by promoting our views about the “best” policy call. But Congress is not our rival; courts are not in the policymaking arena at all. So we should leave judgment calls about best policies to the Legislature, which routinely creates an illuminating record as part of its legislative process. “Respecting Congress’s work product not only makes it more likely that courts will interpret the law in a manner consistent with legislative purposes, but also . . . that Congress will…

slip opinion
Source edition
Passage preview. Read in context for the complete text, notes and references.