472
Syllabus
claims "sounding in tort"—including constitutional torts—"cognizable" under § 1346(b). Pp. 475-479. (b) FSLIC's sue-and-be-sued clause waives sovereign immunity for Meyer's constitutional tort claim. The clause's terms are simple and broad: FSLIC "shall have power . . . [t]o sue and be sued, complain and defend, in any court of competent jurisdiction in the United States." FDIC does not attempt to make the "clear" showing of congressional intent that is necessary to overcome the presumption that such a clause fully waives immunity. See, e. g., Federal Housing Admin. v. Burr, 309 U. S. 242, 245; International Primate Protection League v. Administrators of Tulane Ed. Fund, 500 U. S. 72, 86, n. 8. Instead, FDIC argues that the statutory waiver's scope should be limited to cases in which FSLIC would be subjected to liability as a private entity. This category would not include instances of constitutional tort. The cases on which FDIC relies, Burr, supra, Loeffler v. Frank, 486 U. S. 549, and Franchise Tax Bd. of California v. Postal Service, 467 U. S. 512, do not support the limitation suggested by FDIC. Pp. 480-483. 2. A Bivens cause of action cannot be implied directly against FSLIC. The logic of Bivens itself does not support the extension of Bivens from federal agents to federal agencies. In Bivens, the petitioner sued the agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics who allegedly violated his rights, not the Bureau itself, 403 U. S., at 389-390, and the Court implied a cause of action against the agents in part because a direct action against the Government was not available, id., at 410 (Harlan, J., concurring in judgment). In essence, Meyer asks the Court to imply a damages action based on a decision that presumed the absence of that very action. Moreover, if the Court were to imply such an action directly against federal agencies, thereby permitting claimants to bypass the qualified immunity protection invoked by many Bivens defendants, there would no longer be any reason for aggrieved parties to bring damages actions against individual officers, and the deterrent effects of the Bivens remedy would be lost. Finally, there are "special factors counselling hesitation" in the creation of a damages remedy against federal agencies. Such a remedy would create a potentially enormous financial burden for the Federal Government, a matter affecting fiscal policy that is better left to Congress. Pp. 483-486.
944 F. 2d 562, reversed.
Thomas, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.
Deputy Solicitor General Bender argued the cause for petitioner. On the briefs were Solicitor General Days, Act-
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