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S.E. Wood Is it constitutional? Most of us by now realize that the basis for
our federal government is the Constitution of the United States.
It is a rather short document, inspired, some believe, by the
Almighty. If you read through its 20 small pages, and realize
that this small booklet sets forth the rules and regulations
for the longest-surviving democratic republic in the history
of civilization, then divine inspiration may not be too hard
to believe. Having just emerged from the tyranny of England's
King George, the framers of the Constitution were determined
not to permit another such autocracy here in the New World. Thus
the Constitution is not so much a document of what the federal
government can do, as much as it is a document of what it cannot,
or should not, do. After a couple years of retrospect, the founding
fathers decided that more limitations upon the power of government
were needed. So they added 10 amendments to the original document,
which are commonly known as the Bill of Rights. Each and every
one of these amendments contains the phrase, "Congress shall
make no laws...," or "The right of the people shall
not be violated..." or something similar. Yet, in recent years our more liberal legislators
and jurists, intent on creating an ever-expanding and ever-intrusive
federal government, have been intent on enacting or interpreting
laws contrary to the disciplines of the Constitution. Let's face
it. Much of what they have enacted, does, in fact, limit our
freedoms, and blatantly violates the Constitution. Their actions
are, in a word, unconstitutional! So, Representative John Shadegg (R-AZ) has
introduced a bill, titled, "The Enumerated Powers Act"
(H.R. 175). It's really pretty simple. It says: "Each Act of Congress must contain a
concise and definite statement of the constitutional authority
relied upon for the enactment of each portion of that Act."
In other words, if it ain't Constitutional,
don't bring it up. You would think this would be a no-brainer,
wouldn't you? Don't bet on it. This is the fourth time this bill
has been introduced, and it's never gone anywhere. This time
it has 26 co-sponsors, but sadly, our Representative Hilleary
isn't among them. Why? I don't know. Why don't you ask him? His
Crossville number is 484-1114. His Washington address is 114
Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC, 20515, or you can
go to his official Web site, http://www.house.gov/hilleary and
e-mail him from there. |