Orrin Hatch: “I am today introducing in the Senate a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment that would grant States and…”

“I am today introducing in the Senate a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment that would grant States and localities relief from any further unfunded Federal mandates. This amendment would restore the balance between Federal and State power that the Constitution was meant to preserve, but that decades of Federal heavyhandedness have upset. Under this amendment--which would apply to statutes enacted after its ratification--unfunded mandates would not be enforceable against States and localities unless Congress so specified through a separate supermajority vote. This is not a conservative or a liberal issue. It is an issue of effective, efficient government. Freeing States and localities of the burden of unfunded mandates will enable our State and local representatives to carry out the agenda--whether liberal or conservative--that their people have elected them to carry out. Let me emphasize that this joint resolution is not intended as an alternative to the unfunded mandates legislation that Senator Kempthorne is offering as S. 1. I fully support Senator Kempthorne's bill, and I am pleased to have Senator Kempthorne's support for this joint resolution. Senator Kempthorne's bill will be a major first step in providing real relief from unfunded mandates. This amendment will provide the next big step. No matter is more basic to our constitutional structure than the relation between the Federal and State governments.…”