Needed Congressional Action
by
Matt Giwer (c) 1995 <4/2>

      The cost cutting on Congress is hardly a good beginning but rather than criticize it, let me say what should be done.
      We have a serious disagreement in this country as to whether the federal government should be doing many things that it is doing. Although the courts have upheld them there is still the problem that the federal courts are part of the problem. I have a modest proposal that no one should object to.
      All laws that are not clearly traceable to a delegated power in the Constitution are legislated to become null and void in five years unless an amendment is ratified by the states permitting them. At the same time these laws will be grouped as neatly as possible and a simple amendment permitting them submitted to the states for ratification. If not ratified in five years, the laws the amendment would cover would be become null and void.
      Take for example all of the laws creating programs that affect education in the country. The amendment would simply read, Congress shall have the power to regulate education in the several states. The states can then decide if they want the federal government to have that power or not.
      Certainly there may be arguments that it already has that power but if those are good arguments certainly the amendment will be ratified. An amendment permitting social security would certainly be easily ratified and that would end all objection to it. Similarly an amendment clearly giving Congress the power to regulate arms would answer the question once and for all.
      Other than those who would hold such issues have already been decided claiming it would be a waste of time and effort I can not see any other objection. Certainly even for them it would be a vindication of their position. On the other hand those holding these things not constitutional would have an opportunity for vindication.
      The model for the amendments would be Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. They would be additions to, Congress shall have the power to, that is the first line of that section. Certainly we would not want to encumber the Constitution with a thousand new amendments thus the laws would be grouped as tightly possible. We would not want to hold Congress to have the power to regulate one part of education and not another and thus the blanket power would have to be ratified.
      If the country has really changed since it was founded this is the proper process to ratify those changes rather than finding loopholes in the wording of the Constitution. It would no longer be a question of original intention but rather of whether or not the states want the federal government to have these powers.
      Perhaps there is a fear of change but I do not see what objections there could be to this approach.