Dalton v. Specter, 511 U.S. 462, 8 (1994)

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Cite as: 511 U. S. 462 (1994)

Opinion of the Court

first sought to determine whether the Secretary's action, in submitting a census report to the President, was "final" for purposes of APA review. (The APA provides for judicial review only of "final agency action." 5 U. S. C. § 704 (emphasis added).) Because the President reviewed (and could revise) the Secretary's report, made the apportionment calculations, and submitted the final apportionment report to Congress, we held that the Secretary's report was "not final and therefore not subject to review." 505 U. S., at 798.

We next held that the President's actions were not reviewable under the APA, because the President is not an "agency" within the meaning of the APA. Id., at 801 ("As the APA does not expressly allow review of the President's actions, we must presume that his actions are not subject to its requirements"). We thus concluded that the reapportionment determination was not reviewable under the standards of the APA. Ibid. In reaching our conclusion, we noted that the "President's actions may still be reviewed for constitutionality." Ibid. (citing Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U. S. 579 (1952), and Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan, 293 U. S. 388 (1935)).

In this case, respondents brought suit under the APA,

alleging that the Secretary and the Commission did not follow the procedural mandates of the 1990 Act. But here, as in Franklin, the prerequisite to review under the APA— "final agency action"—is lacking. The reports submitted by the Secretary and the Commission, like the report of the Secretary of Commerce in Franklin, "carr[y] no direct consequences" for base closings. 505 U. S., at 798. The action that "will directly affect" the military bases, id., at 797, is taken by the President, when he submits his certification of approval to Congress. Accordingly, the Secretary's and Commission's reports serve "more like a tentative recommendation than a final and binding determination." Id., at 798. The reports are, "like the ruling of a subordinate

469

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