372
Blackmun, J., dissenting
this case is simply not inherently "beyond the competence of the judiciary to enforce." Ibid.
Petitioners' argument that the "reasonable efforts" clause of the Adoption Act is so vague and amorphous as to be unenforceable assumes that in Wright and Wilder the Court was working at the outer limits of what is judicially cognizable: Any deviation from Wright or Wilder, petitioners imply, would go beyond the bounds of judicial competence. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that this is so. See Wilder, 496 U. S., at 520 (inquiry into reasonableness of reimbursement rates is "well within the competence of the Judiciary") (emphasis supplied). Federal courts, in innumerable cases, have routinely enforced reasonableness clauses in federal statutes. See, e. g., Virginian R. Co. v. Railway Employees, 300 U. S. 515, 518, 550 (1937) (enforcing "every reasonable effort" provision of the Railway Labor Act and noting that "whether action taken or omitted is . . . reasonable [is an] everyday subjec[t] of inquiry by courts in framing and enforcing their decrees"). Petitioners have not shown that the Adoption Act's reasonableness clause is exceptional in this respect.
II
The Court does not explain why the settled three-part test for determining the enforceability of an asserted right is not applied in this case. Moreover, the reasons the Court does offer to support its conclusion—that the Adoption Act's "reasonable efforts" clause creates no enforceable right—were raised and rejected in Wilder.
The Court acknowledges that the Adoption Act is "mandatory in its terms." Ante, at 358. It adopts, however, a narrow understanding of what is "mandatory." It reasons that the language of § 671(a), which provides that "[i]n order for a State to be eligible for payments under this part, it shall have a plan approved by the Secretary," requires participating States only to submit and receive approval for a plan that contains the features listed in §§ 671(a)(1) to (16). According
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