AUSTIN – The federal government has dramatically expanded its power at the expense of the states and individuals, according to a report released today by the Center for Tenth Amendment Studies at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
“In recent years, the size and power of the federal government has grown dramatically, at the expense of both the states and individual liberty. Limited government protects our freedom,” observed TPPF Senior Fellow Ted Cruz, former Solicitor General of the State of Texas and a co-author of the report. “Our Constitution’s Tenth Amendment serves as a critical bulwark to restrain the federal government, and today millions of Americans are energized to restore reasonable restraints on government authority, taxes, and spending.”
The Foundation is working with think tanks and allies across the country to develop an “Agenda for State Action,” consisting of tools that states can use to stop federal overreach and restore the U.S. Constitution’s limits on government power. Items in the agenda include:
– An interstate compact for health care reform; – A constitutional amendment to require a balanced federal budget; – Opting out of federal programs and federal funds; – State lawsuits against the federal government; and – Congressional legislation to stop federal overreach.
“An interstate compact on health care can shield states and individuals from the dangerous consequences of the new federal health care law,” said Mario Loyola, who was recently named the Center’s Director and is also a co-author of the report. “Reciprocal legislation adopted by a large number of States can limit the impact of federal funds that arrive in state budgets with crippling mandates and conditions attached. And the next Congress should act decisively to rein in the unaccountable, unelected regulatory state.”
The report, “Reclaiming the Constitution: Towards an Agenda for State Action,” is the Center’s first publication, and is available on the Foundation’s website, www.TexasPolicy.com.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit free-market research institute based in Austin.
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