Unfunded federal mandates are one of the four major abuses perpetrated by the federal government. In these scenarios, the feds force the states to implement federal policy without supplying adequate funding. The result is that state governments become nothing more than regional agencies of the federal government rather than the independent republican governments they were meant to be.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a new study yesterday that confirms the seriousness of this problem. The Hill reports:
States are on the hook for implementing the majority of federal environmental regulations but receive little federal money to help them do that, according to a new report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
In a study released Wednesday, the Chamber found federal grants cover only about 28 percent of the funding states need to implement Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules. The study found grant assistance has declined 29 percent over the course of the decade even as the cost of implementing EPA rules has increased by more than one-third.
The report comes after the Chamber and its allies waged lobbying and legal campaigns against three major EPA rules released last year. Those regulations set limits on carbon pollution at power plants, establish federal control over small waterways and limit surface-level ozone emissions.
The rules, the Chamber, business groups and the energy industry warn, will lead to higher costs for businesses and hinder states by requiring more regulatory oversight.
The federal government will never cease this practice until their authority for doing so has been stripped away. Fortunately, the Founders gave the states a way to address unfunded federal mandates without relying on Congressional approval.
An Article V Convention of States allows the people and the states to propose constitutional amendments that limit the jurisdiction of the federal government. These amendments can restrict the kinds of things the feds are allowed to spend money on, and remove their ability to hand down federal mandates from on high.
The movement is taking off all across the nation, and already eight states have officially signed up. Click here for more information.
