Joe and I spent the weekend at the Western Conservative Summit, meeting many interesting people. We invited a few of them to share their ideas on this blog. The following opinions are of the guest blogger and do not necessarily represent the views of BillTrack50. Please share your opinions in our comment section below.
HOW STATES CAN CURB FEDERAL REGULATORS
2 Governors, a bipartisan group of more than 100 legislators including 8 House Speakers and Senate Leaders, and the General Counsel of the RNC, now support the Regulation Freedom Amendment to require that Congress approve major new federal regulations.
Text of Amendment:
“Whenever one quarter of the Members of the U.S. House or the U.S. Senate transmit to the President their written declaration of opposition to a proposed federal regulation, it shall require a majority vote of the House and Senate to adopt that regulation.”
As the WSJ piece below suggests, state legislative leaders in 2/3 of the states could force Congress to propose the Amendment as early as 2015.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
May 5, 2014
LETTERS
STATES CAN AND SHOULD RESTRAIN REGULATORS
State legislators in two thirds of the states could force Congress to propose a “Regulation Freedom” amendment to the U.S. Constitution just as states forced Congress to propose the original Bill of Rights.
May 4, 2014 6:28 p.m. ET
As your April 30 editorial “The EPA Unchained” points out, the courts have given federal regulators enormous power with little accountability.
The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act, passed in the House with bipartisan support requiring that Congress approve major federal regulations, is unlikely to get 60 Senate votes or a presidential signature, even though polls show voters like the idea.
But state legislators in two-thirds of the states could force Congress to propose a similar “Regulation Freedom” amendment to the U.S. Constitution just as the states forced Congress to propose the original Bill of Rights.
Congress will do almost anything to avoid a convention that would be more powerful than Congress. Two-thirds of the states working together would also have the power to safely limit their delegates to an up-or-down vote on just the amendment states wanted.
Perhaps it is time for state leaders to do what the authors of our Constitution intended them to do-rein in the abuse of power in Washington.
Roman Buhler
Director
The Madison Coalition
McLean, Va.
For Online Version Continue to:
http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/SB10001424052702303678404579535751480408692-lMyQjAxMTA0MDAwNTEwNDUyWj
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Support for the “Regulation Freedom Amendment” now includes (partial list):
GOVERNORS
Mike Pence, IN
Phil Bryant, MS
STATE LEGISLATIVE LEADERS
IN Senate President David Long
GA Senate President David Schafer
TN Senate Maj. Leader Mark Norris
UT Senate Maj. Leader Curt Bramble
IN House Speaker Brian Bosma
ID House Speaker Scott Bedke
WY House Speaker Tom Lubnau
OH House Speaker Pro-Tem Matt Huffman
STATE LEGISLATORS
A bipartisan group of more 100 state legislators now supports the Regulation Freedom Amendment.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERS
American for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist
Federalist Society Co-Founder David McIntosh
Former RNC Chair and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson
Former Ohio Secretary of
State Ken Blackwell
Former House Appropriations Chair Bob Livingston.
McCain 2008 Chair Charlie Black
BUSINESS GROUPS
Indiana Manufacturers Assoc.
Indiana Bankers Assoc.
CONSERVATIVE GROUPS
National Taxpayers Union
Wyoming Republican Party
South Dakota Republican Party
LEGAL EXPERTS
Chuck Cooper, Former Director, Office of White House Legal Counsel
John Ryder, General Counsel, RNC
David Norcross, fmr. RNC Gen. Counsel Tom Sansonetti, fmr RNC Gen. Counsel Mark Braden, fmr RNC Gen. Counsel
Curt Levy, Pres. Cmtee for Justice
PUBLIC OPINION
Polls show 2-1 voter support for the Regulation Freedom Amendment (copies available; contact Roman)
LEGISLATIVE PROGRESS
The Indiana legislature and the Georgia Senate have passed measures urging Congress to propose the Regulation Freedom Amendment. Similar measures are under consideration in other states.
The legislatures of IN, GA, FL, and TN have all strengthened their persuasive power with Congress by passing “faithful delegate” laws that protect the Constitution against the risk of a “runaway convention” by empowering the state to replace disobedient delegates.
ADVANTAGES OF A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
1.Does not need the President’s signature.
2.Can’t be repealed by a future Congress.
3.Almost impossible to challenge as “unconstitutional” on separation of powers or other grounds issues.
4. 34 States could potentially force Congress to propose it the way the states forced Congress to propose the Bill of Rights.
OUR STRATEGY
1. Build endorsements in 2014 for the Regulation Freedom Amendment among legislators, and political, business, and grassroots leaders. An endorsement helps end “regulation without representation”.
2. Encourage our allies to help pro-Regulation Freedom Amendment legislators in Nov. 2014. Voters back it by 2-1 margins. Every candidate can be asked “Do you support the Regulation Freedom Amendment?”
3. Assemble a bipartisan group of legislative leaders from 30-34 states after the Nov. 2014 election to come to agreement on the final text of the Amendment. Such an agreement would be a “first” in American history. Media,, regulators and Congress would notice.
The 28 states with Republican majorities in the legislature, the 2 states controlled by coal-country Democrats, and 4 states Republicans could win in 2014–ME, NH, IA, and NM could add up to the 34, 2/3 of the states, that we need to force Congress to act.
4. Work for the adoption of a U.S. House Rule and pledge by a majority of U.S. Senators to recognize and enforce the 10th Amendment right of states to strictly limit the scope of an Article V Convention, thus helping to ensure that states can safely use Article V.
5. Mobilize state legislators in 34 states to action that forces Congress to propose the “Regulation Freedom Amendment” in 2015.
As this movement gathers momentum it could deter many of the worst regulations now being readied behind closed doors for introduction after the 2014 election.
WHAT VOLUNTEERS CAN DO:
1. If you have not already done so ENDORSE the Regulation Freedom Amendment.
2. Tell your friends about our effort.
3. If you have the ability to so, consider making a contribution. For more information, email us at: LEADERS@MadisonCoalition.org
4. Consider volunteering a little time to help us recruit more supporters for the Regulation Freedom Amendment.
A team of just 100 people willing to personally contact as few as 1 or 2 grassroots leaders per week will very quickly build a network of more than 1000 grassroots leaders (at least 30 leaders in each of our 34 key states) who have endorsed the Regulation Freedom Amendment. These leaders will be decisive in educating and mobilizing the. legislators we need in our 34 target states about how they can act to force Congress to rein in the abuse of power in Washington.
Thanks for your interest in curbing the abuses of federal regulators in Washington.
Roman Buhler
Director
The Madison Coalition
www.MadisonCoalition.Org
www.RegulationFreedom.Org