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

The “Enumerated Powers Act” would force Congress to cite its Constitutional authority for every law it passes. When we last reported to you in late July this bill had 52 co-sponsors in the House, and had just been introduced in the Senate by Tom Coburn, gaining a whopping 22 co-sponsors almost immediately.

Progress has slowed since then, but there is another new co-sponsor in the House. Representative Pete Sessions of Texas came on board on July 23, 2008, just a couple of days after we last contacted Congress about this bill. Maybe some of you made the difference with Mr. Sessions, so let’s keep pushing . . .

* If your Rep. or one or more of your Senators is a co-sponsor, please thank them (we’ve provided a list of co-sponsors below my signature).
* If one or more of your elected representatives is not on the list, ask them to please become a co-sponsor

You can send your message at DownsizeDC.org here.

NINTH AMENDMENT: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

TENTH AMENDMENT: 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.

Here are the co-sponsors in the Senate . . .

Sen Allard, Wayne [CO] – 6/19/2008
Sen Barrasso, John [WY] – 6/19/2008
Sen Brownback, Sam [KS] – 6/19/2008
Sen Burr, Richard [NC] – 6/19/2008
Sen Chambliss, Saxby [GA] – 6/19/2008
Sen Cornyn, John [TX] – 6/19/2008
Sen Crapo, Mike [ID] – 6/19/2008
Sen DeMint, Jim [SC] – 6/19/2008
Sen Dole, Elizabeth [NC] – 6/19/2008
Sen Ensign, John [NV] – 6/19/2008
Sen Enzi, Michael B. [WY] – 6/19/2008
Sen Graham, Lindsey [SC] – 6/19/2008
Sen Grassley, Chuck [IA] – 6/19/2008
Sen Hutchison, Kay Bailey [TX] – 6/19/2008
Sen Inhofe, James M. [OK] – 6/19/2008
Sen Kyl, Jon [AZ] – 6/19/2008
Sen McCain, John [AZ] – 6/19/2008
Sen Sessions, Jeff [AL] – 6/19/2008
Sen Sununu, John E. [NH] – 6/19/2008
Sen Thune, John [SD] – 6/19/2008
Sen Vitter, David [LA] – 6/19/2008
Sen Wicker, Roger F. [MS] – 6/19/2008

Here are the co-sponsors in the House . . .

Rep Akin, W. Todd [MO-2] – 3/6/2007
Rep Barrett, J. Gresham [SC-3] – 12/5/2007
Rep Bartlett, Roscoe G. [MD-6] – 3/6/2007
Rep Bilbray, Brian P. [CA-50] – 3/5/2008
Rep Bishop, Rob [UT-1] – 3/6/2007
Rep Boozman, John [AR-3] – 4/24/2007
Rep Broun, Paul C. [GA-10] – 2/13/2008
Rep Burgess, Michael C. [TX-26] – 6/9/2008
Rep Burton, Dan [IN-5] – 3/6/2007
Rep Cannon, Chris [UT-3] – 2/25/2008
Rep Conaway, K. Michael [TX-11] – 3/6/2007
Rep Cubin, Barbara [WY] – 3/5/2008
Rep Davis, David [TN-1] – 3/27/2007
Rep Doolittle, John T. [CA-4] – 3/5/2008
Rep Duncan, John J., Jr. [TN-2] – 3/7/2007
Rep Feeney, Tom [FL-24] – 4/24/2007
Rep Flake, Jeff [AZ-6] – 3/6/2007
Rep Foxx, Virginia [NC-5] – 3/6/2007
Rep Franks, Trent [AZ-2] – 3/14/2007
Rep Garrett, Scott [NJ-5] – 3/6/2007
Rep Gingrey, Phil [GA-11] – 3/6/2007
Rep Gohmert, Louie [TX-1] – 3/6/2007
Rep Goodlatte, Bob [VA-6] – 9/7/2007
Rep Heller, Dean [NV-2] – 8/1/2007
Rep Hensarling, Jeb [TX-5] – 12/12/2007
Rep Herger, Wally [CA-2] – 3/6/2007
Rep Hoekstra, Peter [MI-2] – 12/4/2007
Rep Johnson, Sam [TX-3] – 12/4/2007
Rep Jones, Walter B., Jr. [NC-3] – 3/31/2008
Rep Kline, John [MN-2] – 12/12/2007
Rep Lamborn, Doug [CO-5] – 3/6/2007
Rep Mack, Connie [FL-14] – 12/12/2007
Rep Marchant, Kenny [TX-24] – 3/6/2007
Rep McCotter, Thaddeus G. [MI-11] – 3/6/2007
Rep Miller, Jeff [FL-1] – 3/6/2007
Rep Musgrave, Marilyn N. [CO-4] – 12/12/2007
Rep Myrick, Sue Wilkins [NC-9] – 3/6/2007
Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] – 3/6/2007
Rep Pitts, Joseph R. [PA-16] – 10/25/2007
Rep Poe, Ted [TX-2] – 3/12/2007
Rep Price, Tom [GA-6] – 3/5/2008
Rep Roskam, Peter J. [IL-6] – 6/3/2008
Rep Sali, Bill [ID-1] – 12/5/2007
Rep Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [WI-5] – 5/15/2008
Rep Sessions, Pete [TX-32] – 7/23/2008
Rep Smith, Lamar [TX-21] – 4/23/2008
Rep Souder, Mark E. [IN-3] – 4/9/2008
Rep Stearns, Cliff [FL-6] – 5/23/2007
Rep Tiahrt, Todd [KS-4] – 4/24/2008
Rep Walberg, Timothy [MI-7] – 3/9/2007
Rep Wamp, Zach [TN-3] – 4/4/2008
Rep Weldon, Dave [FL-15] – 5/1/2007
Rep Westmoreland, Lynn A. [GA-3] – 3/6/2007

We’re all asked (well…told, actually) that we need to do this each and every day.

The federal government tells us what to do more often that we even pay attention to.  We’re told that we need to give them money, we need to submit to patdowns at airports, we need to allow them to read our emails, and on and on and on.

Remember, we’re not asked.  We’re not asked if we want them to do these things and we’re not asked to comply.  We’re told.  And if we don’t comply, they’ll start pulling out the guns pretty quickly.

But doesn’t this make us second-class citizens?

It sure does, because there’s an entire class of citizens – a few hundred people out there – that claim the right of kings.  What’s that?  Well, they don’t have to obey the rules.  How’s that for living in a land of “equal justice?”

Just in case you haven’t guessed who these nefarious characters are yet – it’s our own elected “officials.”

The Constitution is the set of rules that they ignore – with complete impunity.  We have to remember that the Constitution doesn’t apply to you, it doesn’t apply to me, it doesn’t apply to Americans, or foreigners, or anyone at all.  The Constitution applies to the government.  It’s a set of rules…rules which the politicians are supposed to follow.

The Constitution was written under what’s called “positive grant.” What this means is quite simple. The federal government is authorized to exercise only those powers which are positively granted to it by the Constitution. If a power is specifically listed in the Constitution, the federal government can do it. And, vice versa.

This principle was so important to the founding fathers that they codified it in law as the 10th Amendment:

“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.”

Simple, right? Well, you’d think so, but it’s in the nature of government – and politicians – to ignore any rules that limit their power. And that’s why we see both the 10th Amendment, and the entire Constitution, becoming more and more irrelevant in political discussions in Washington D.C.

In short, the 10th Amendment specifically limits the federal government to just those powers and functions named in the Constitution. And the 9th Amendment makes it clear that the people also have many other rights the government must respect, extending far beyond those actually named in the Bill of Rights:

“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

A quick glance at most federal legislation would make virtually any honest person see that almost everything the federal government does is in direct violation of the Constitution.

If Congress would actually stick to the 10th Amendment and only exercise those enumerated powers, the federal government would be vastly smaller, and far more decentralized.

And you’d be more prosperous and free.

That’s why we strongly support new legislation to get the politicians back to the principles of the 10th Amendment.  From DownsizeDC.org:

Representative John Shadegg (R-AZ) has a plan to change all this. He has introduced “The Enumerated Powers Act” (EPA) – HR 1359 [You can read the entire bill on our Background page]. EPA would require every law passed by Congress to reference the specific clause(s) of the U.S. Constitution that grant the authority for that law.

What difference will it make if we require them to “cite chapter and verse” from the Constitution to show where it gives them the authority to pass a law, create or maintain a program, or lay a tax?

* Well, it might slow them down.
* It might mean that they reconsider a proposal instead of introducing it.

And that’s a pretty good start.

If you think Congress should have to quote “chapter and verse” from the Constitution before it creates a new law or program, please ask Congress to pass the “Enumerated Powers Act.”

Take action today at DownsizeDC.org

NINTH AMENDMENT: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

TENTH AMENDMENT: 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 “Enumerated Powers Act” would force Congress to cite its Constitutional authority for every law it passes.

The enumerated powers are a list of specific responsibilities found in Article 1 Section 8 of the United States Constitution, which enumerate the authority granted to the United States Congress.

Congress may exercise only those powers that are stated in the Constitution, limited by the Bill of Rights and the other protections found in the Constitutional text.

From John Shadegg:

For too long, the federal government has operated without constitutional restraint. In doing so, it has created ineffective and costly programs, massive deficits year after year, and a national debt totaling nearly $7 trillion. The Enumerated Powers Act will help slow the flood of unconstitutional legislation and force Congress to reexamine the proper role of the federal government.

If you think Congress should have to quote “chapter and verse” from the Constitution before it creates a new law or program, please ask Congress to pass the “Enumerated Powers Act.”

Take action today at DownsizeDC.org