MADISON, Wis. – Two conservative state lawmakers are calling on their congressional brethren to “give power and flexibility back to the states as intended by the Constitution.”
On Friday, Sens. Dave Craig, R-Town of Vernon, and Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz effectively calling for federal recognition of the Ninth and Tenth amendments.
Chaffetz chairs the House’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The Utah Republican has been hearing a lot lately from Wisconsin conservatives seeking relief from seemingly endless federal regulations and unfunded mandates.
“As state policy-makers, we are consistently contacted by constituents and business leaders about the cost of compliance of unfunded mandates and burdensome federal regulations,” Craig and Kapenga wrote. “When developing policy solutions at the state level, we are continually stymied by federal rules preventing us from solving important problems.
“The most common area of burdensome regulations arise out of requirements tied to federal funding.”
The senators assert the “insidious use of federal funds” has tied the hands of state governments and businesses, robbing local control and increasing costs for compliance and delivery of services. More so, they argue, the divvying up federal dollars collected by taxpayers nationwide has expanded the size and scope of the bureaucracy at all levels “to the detriment of the private sector and taxpayers.”