by Dr. Christopher Duncan
I thought so myself. That is until I found out that this bill died. It is called the Enumerated Powers Act, so named because it refers to the 10th Amendment which limits the federal government’s powers to things specifically enumerated in the Constitution.
It 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.”
This bill would require congress to list the constitutional authority for each bill brought forward to become a law. It makes sense to me. If you want to pass a bill you should know by what authority you are doing so.
The problem is that this bill has been proposed by Representative John Shadegg (R-AZ) since 1995, and it has yet to come up for a vote. This last year it finally had 53 co-sponsors in the House and finally saw the senate floor thanks to Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK). But despite being the most obvious law ever it hasn’t made it anywhere. It’s been killed.
I am convinced that this bill keeps being relegated to eternal committee because no one knows about it. If we push our legislators to advance it then it will pass. It is up to us. Our own government has successfully hidden this issue for too long. Open people’s eyes please. Draw some attention to this bill and to what our representatives are doing.
There is a great article about the entire issue at the great Heritage Foundation website. You can find out what happened to the bill here. Check it out and see if your representative signed on to it. I haven’t completely vetted this site, but on the surface it looks great, and has already begun the campaign to bring this issue to a vote.
Dr. Christopher Duncan is a Christian, a Chiropractor, and an American. Visit his blog at http://heldtongue.blogspot.com
except its a terrible terrible idea
Ryan, following the constitution is a terrible idea? Would be interesting in knowing why you feel that way.
I think that's the whole idea is to keep us from really knowing what's going on. Draw some attention to this bill and to what our representatives are doing.
In 2004 Massachusetts became the first state in the United States to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and California followed suit in 2008.
I couldn't agree more with your view. It is times like this where the constitution itself is revolutionary. I do believe that as individuals and states we are at the point where we need to be prepared to not just speak, but sacrifice to gain back the freedoms laid out by the constitution.
The Bill itself would be unconstitutional. Congress does not have the authority to determine whether or not a bill or a law is unconstitutional. That authority is retained solely by the Judicial branch with the precedent of Judicial Review.