| |
| |
|
|
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
|
|
WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment to the United States |
|
|
Constitution places clear limits on the reach of the federal |
|
|
government; however, through the years, the U.S. Congress has |
|
|
seized upon the Interstate Commerce Clause in Article 1, Section 8 |
|
|
of the Constitution as justification for methodically expanding its |
|
|
own powers; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Interstate Commerce Clause provides that |
|
|
Congress shall have only the authority "[t]o regulate Commerce with |
|
|
foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian |
|
|
Tribes" and should not be used to provide Congress with powers |
|
|
beyond those originally intended by the framers of the |
|
|
Constitution, such as the establishment of regulations, agencies, |
|
|
and government programs that usurp the duties and responsibilities |
|
|
reserved for the states by the Tenth Amendment; now, therefore, be |
|
|
it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
|
hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to |
|
|
reaffirm its commitment to the Tenth Amendment of the United States |
|
|
Constitution by returning to the states the many duties and |
|
|
responsibilities reserved to them; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Texas Legislature urge the Congress |
|
|
of the United States to abolish, in an orderly and expeditious |
|
|
fashion, within a time span not to exceed 10 years, the Department |
|
|
of Education, the Federal Highway Administration, the Department of |
|
|
Commerce, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the |
|
|
Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of |
|
|
Labor; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Texas Legislature urge the Congress |
|
|
of the United States to reduce the federal income tax by an amount |
|
|
equal to the cost savings associated with the abolition of these |
|
|
agencies, to commit to never usurping the rights of the states in |
|
|
any future legislation, and to refrain from exempting itself from |
|
|
any legislation it so passes; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
|
|
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
|
|
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
|
|
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
|
|
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
|
|
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
|
|
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |