In a move that should shock freedom-loving Americans nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control announced this week an order banning landlords from evicting residents who swear to a series of statements about their income, employment, and housing status.
It's unclear how the CDC will verify these statements. It's also unclear where they think they derive the authority to dictate housing policy for states and localities all across the country.
Their rationale, at first glance, seems reasonable. They don't want people potentially infected with COVID-19 wandering the streets or moving from house to house. But even given this reasoning, legal experts across the board have looked with shock on the apparent power-grab from a federal agency.
Writing for Reason.com, Ilya Somin says the policy "would set a dangerous precedent undermining federalism, the separation of powers, and property rights.
"Conservatives, in particular, will have reason to regret it when a Democratic president inherits the same sweeping powers," he concludes.
Jeff Deist at the Mises Institute points out that the CDC's legal justification is paper-thin:
It is unclear, to put it mildly, exactly how this jurisdiction over private contracts and state/local courts flows even to Congress, much less an administrative agency acting on its own. One federal official justifies the bizarre and legally dubious action based on the CDC's broad charter to stop the spread of communicable diseases.
...this was announced without congressional input or approval and purely by administrative decree. At least the eviction and mortgage moratoriums in the CARES Act, passed by Congress in March, were enacted by politicians who face voters this fall.
Defenders of the policy might argue that it was necessary for the CDC to act given Congress' inability to compromise. In order for governors and mayors to effectively implement stay-at-home orders, people need to have homes to stay in.
But as we've so often said at the Convention of States Project: it's more important who decides than what is decided.
The CDC doesn't have the constitutional authority to take control of apartments, condos, and rental homes from New York to Nevada. None of the people who made that decision are elected. They can't be voted out of office if and when their policy fails miserably. They won't face the consequences of their actions, and they can't speak for the will of We the People.
What many Americans don't realize is that this is just the latest example of bureaucratic overreach. Federal agencies have been making these moves for decades, and each time, the American people lose a little freedom.
It's time to change how D.C. operates. Federal bureaucrats shouldn't have the power to change the lives of all Americans with a simple stroke of a pen. They need their power checked, and the founders gave us a way to do that in Article V of the Constitution.
Article V allows the people -- acting through the states -- to call a Convention of States for the purpose of proposing constitutional amendments. It takes 34 states to make such a convention happen.
At the convention, states can propose amendments that limit the power, scope, and jurisdiction of the federal government -- including federal agencies. These amendments can clarify that only the people's elected representatives can make the laws. Any and all federal policies must pass through the people's representatives, especially policies that dictate the actions of Americans in all 50 states.
Over 4.6 million Americans have voiced their support for the Convention of States Project. Fifteen states have called for such a convention, and over 1.7 million Americans have signed the Convention of States Petition.
To join the movement, sign the petition today!
