[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1587 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1587

Recognizing that the cause of liberty demands that government should be 
made accountable again to the consent of the governed, and calling for 
the real decentralization of power through the restoration of American 
                              federalism.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2010

  Mr. Bishop of Utah (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Culberson, Mr. 
Lamborn, Mr. Garrett of New Jersey, Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. McClintock, Mrs. 
 Lummis, Mr. Neugebauer, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Pence, Mr. Price of Georgia, 
  Mr. Hensarling, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Latta, Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Coffman of 
 Colorado, Mr. Tiahrt, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Graves of Georgia, Mr. Gingrey 
    of Georgia, and Mrs. McMorris Rodgers) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing that the cause of liberty demands that government should be 
made accountable again to the consent of the governed, and calling for 
the real decentralization of power through the restoration of American 
                              federalism.

Whereas this is a Nation of States, and federalism is central to the structure 
        of government and the very definition of American constitutionalism;
Whereas as James Madison famously noted in The Federalist, ``The powers 
        delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few 
        and defined'', and that ``Those which are to remain in the State 
        governments are numerous and indefinite.'';
Whereas throughout American history and the laws of the United States, most 
        powers of government and as a result the decisions that affect citizens' 
        day-to-day lives were to be made at the State level;
Whereas the relationship between the Federal Government, the several States, and 
        the sovereign people is summed up most succinctly in the Tenth 
        Amendment, ``The powers not delegated to the United States by the 
        Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the 
        States respectively, or to the people.'';
Whereas the structural division of powers and functions between the Federal 
        Government and the several States provides a double security against 
        abusive government by causing each level of government to check the 
        other in the name of upholding the rights and protecting the liberties 
        of the people of the United States;
Whereas in recognizing and protecting a sphere of State autonomy and local self-
        government, federalism has expanded liberty, accommodated a vast 
        diversity of opinions, and fostered an extensive array of policy 
        innovations in addressing and solving many of the Nation's greatest 
        challenges;
Whereas ever-increasing amounts of regulations and laws emanating from the 
        Federal Government, occurring in stages over the whole course of the 
        20th century but gathering particular momentum with the expansion of 
        regulatory government in the 1960s, have centralized and bureaucratized 
        political rule in the United States, undermining the balance of 
        federalism and threatening self-government;
Whereas under the current Administration, the ideology of big government has 
        found a new voice and a new sponsor, and the results, from massive 
        spending to the takeover of whole industries to new regulatory 
        initiatives to the explosion of debt, have been especially threatening 
        and destructive to the idea and structural integrity of federalism;
Whereas in an atmosphere where courts and the executive seem to be moving in the 
        opposite direction, a new Congress must take upon itself the 
        responsibility to limit the scope of Federal powers and extend the 
        ability of the several States to assert their legitimate powers, and 
        thereby provide for the dynamism, opportunities, and creativity needed 
        to solve problems, foster prosperity, and get the United States moving 
        in the right direction; and
Whereas there are many policy areas that have become Federal Government concerns 
        but are better dealt with at the State and local levels of government, 
        the devolution of which will provide the dynamism, opportunities, and 
        creativity in solving problems and fostering prosperity in the United 
        States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the House of Representatives--
                    (A) recognizes that the cause of liberty demands 
                that government should be made accountable again to the 
                consent of the governed, bringing it closer to the 
                people and returning to them control over their lives 
                while making it better able to solve their problems and 
                serve their common good; and
                    (B) recognizes the historic and continuing 
                importance of federalism and reaffirms its commitment 
                to safeguard and uphold constitutional government as 
                defined by the Tenth Amendment to the United States 
                Constitution; and
            (2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
                    (A) this situation requires, and the very future of 
                freedom and limited government depends on, a 
                restoration of American federalism and a real 
                decentralization of government power and vast areas of 
                policymaking from the Federal Government to States, 
                local communities, neighborhoods, families, and 
                individual citizens; and
                    (B) while recognizing that the restoration of 
                federalism will require a widespread and extensive 
                restructuring of Federal Government operations and that 
                not all or even most of the solutions come from the 
                national capital, the best path toward achieving the 
                goal of real structural reform is through practical but 
                significant policy reforms that will allow the several 
                States to prove the virtues of federalism and thereby 
                build a new nationwide consensus for decentralizing 
                political power in the United States.
                                 <all>