POLITICS
Texas Gov. Reaffirms State Sovereignty
2009-04-14 06:47am
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has joined with state lawmakers in supporting a resolution reaffirming states' rights under the 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, reports said Tuesday.
"Millions of Texans are tired of Washington, D.C. trying to come down here to tell us how to run Texas," Perry said in a speech supporting House Concurrent Resolution 50.
"I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion inton the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state," he continued. "That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm states' rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
"I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union," he said.
Critics of the Obama administration and the Democrat-run Congress say a number of recent national legislative proposals don't fall within the federal government's constitutionally designated powers. The Texas measure, they say, is a wake-up call of sorts aimed at reminding Washington that certain powers are left to states.
The Texas proposal also calls for prohibiting or repealing all federal legislation imposed on the state that requires compliance under penalty of civil or criminal action.
(c) 2009 Newsroom.