WASHINGTON– Ten House Republicans launched a states’ rights task force Thursday, hoping to transfer control of departments like education, transportation and federal programs like Medicaid to state governments.
Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, one of the founding members of the new 10th Amendment Task Force, said there’s no reason for a federal Department of Education and that its constituents would be better served if it operated at the state level.
Bishop, who was an educator for 28 years and a Utah state legislator for 16 years, said
although choices abound us in our daily lives, the government doesn’t offer more than one option. “We are still in a one-size-fits-all approach.”
“We don’t have to stop any programs, but they don’t all have to be based in Washington,” Bishop said.
Bishop said his constituents have asked for this. “I have had more and more calls in the past year and a half as this administration has consolidated more power into Washington.”
Mark Kende, constitutional law professor and director of the Drake Constitutional Law Center said it seems unlikely that departments would be downsized or abolished.
“Lawmakers have the right to do it. They can reduce a department’s power or abolish it,” Kende said. “But it gets tricky when the department provides a service that people depend on and then is not around anymore.”
Kende said the 1970 U.S. Supreme Court case of Goldberg v. Kelly requires an evidentiary hearing before a recipient of certain government benefits can be deprived of those benefits.
If the state or local level filled in the gap and did provide the services, then it would be a non-issue. Kende said. “People could not claim injury, so it would be perfectly legal.”
Bishop said the founding fathers believed there needs to be some sort of balance between the powers of local, state, and federal government, and that the current administration is centralizing more power in Washington. “Centralizing power really does hurt people,” said Bishop.
“We want to guarantee people have choices and options in their lives. Our goal of this new task force is to inhibit the growth of the government by dispersing programs from the federal government back to the state,” Bishop said. “Washington won’t shrink its size by itself.”
Kende said that with many states having budget crises of their own, that sticking them with providing more services than they can already afford would pose more risks.
In launching the task force, a subset of the Republican Study Committee, Bishop is open to connecting with outside groups like American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the Heritage Foundation, and the National Governors Association.
“We’re open to anyone who wants to join us,” Bishop said.
Bishop said the task force could work to transfer control of programs to the state level by means of legislation, working with state attorney generals, and calling for constitutional amendments.
Other members of the task force include Reps. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, Mike Conaway, R-Texas, Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Tom McClintock, R-Calif. and Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas.