Wicker pushing Restoring the 10th Amendment Act in Congress

RELEASE:

Wicker, Culberson Introduce ‘Restoring the 10th Amendment Act’

Legislation Would Allow States to Dispute Federal Regulations, Executive Orders

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and U.S. Representative John Culberson, R-Texas, today have introduced the “Restoring the 10th Amendment Act.” The measure would enable states to challenge federal regulations and executive orders before they go into effect. The bill ensures that designated state officials have the ability to challenge federal regulations in court when regulations infringe on state authority in violation of the 10th Amendment.

“I have serious concerns about how the Obama Administration’s oversteps are impacting Americans’ personal lives and state authority,” said Wicker, who has championed this bill in every Congress since 2010. “There is an urgent need for constitutional checks and balances on executive power, and this bill offers states and the American people an important tool to challenge federal overreach, from unlawful actions on immigration to extreme environmental rules.”

“President Obama pledged to use a ‘phone and pen’ to push through his liberal agenda against the will of the people, and thanks to his unconstitutional executive actions, there is very little left in our personal lives or in the realm of original state authority that the federal government does not control,” said Culberson. “From illegal amnesty, to Obamacare, to the IRS scandals – no President has shown greater disregard for individual liberty and states’ rights. This bill will do more to limit the size, power, and cost of the federal government than anything else Congress could do.”

The U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment states:

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.

The “Restoring the 10th Amendment Act,” S. 1045 in the Senate and H.R. 1935 in the House, authorizes designated state officials to pursue legal challenges to proposals by federal agencies. These officials would be able to submit a legal brief challenging the constitutionality of the rule under the 10th Amendment during the commenting process.

Cosponsors of the Senate bill include Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Thad Cochran, R-Miss., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., David Perdue, R-Ga., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., is a cosponsor of the House bill.

4/22/15