“On all of these I believe that we need a partnership, but the federal government has to set a tone for a national agenda. History shows us that sometimes states’ rights meant no rights for some people.”
“This should be a partnership between the two, in which the federal government sets minimum standards and the states have the flexibility to implement and improve.”
“The policy responsibility is split, since some issues are primarily local—for example, local streets. And others are of national importance—for example, ‘Are American kids able to compete in the world?’ ”
Should states have more responsibility than the federal government for setting policy in any of these areas? (Check all that apply.)
Republicans (33 votes)
Education: 97%
Energy: 42%
Health care: 82%
Transportation: 76%
None (volunteered): 3%
Education
“Directives from the federal government only serve to hinder our local officials’ ability to adapt to the needs of our children in the classroom—stifling innovation and preventing widespread progress in our education system.”
Energy
“Sadly, under this administration the feds have thwarted energy independence except for private lands in North Dakota. Nuclear, oil shale, drilling, coal, and natural gas all suffer.”
“All save energy where there is a national-security imperative when it comes to weaning us from foreign oil. The problem is, energy-producing states seem to be more serious about that than the Obama administration.”
Transportation
“Time to let states reclaim most of [the] federal gas tax and start building roads without the middleman.”
Other
“All of them and more; the 10th Amendment will become a rallying cry during this year’s budget debates. Lots of programs will be block-granted to the states, along with flexibility—huge structural changes [are] coming.”
“States should set policy in accordance with how they fund policy, however, and all these areas include substantial sums of federal funds.”
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Democratic Congressional Insiders Sens. Sherrod Brown, Ben Cardin, Thomas Carper, Frank Lautenberg, Barbara Mikulski, Mark Pryor, Jon Tester, Tom Udall, Mark Warner; Reps. Jason Altmire, Robert Andrews, Tammy Baldwin, Xavier Becerra, Howard Berman, Lois Capps, Michael Capuano, Dennis Cardoza, James Clyburn, Gerry Connolly , Jim Cooper, Joseph Crowley, Elijah Cummings, Diana DeGette, Rosa DeLauro, Eliot Engel, Anna Eshoo, Sam Farr, Chaka Fattah, Bob Filner, Alcee Hastings, Rush Holt, Mike Honda, Steve Israel, Jim Langevin, John Lewis, Zoe Lofgren, Nita Lowey, Carolyn Maloney, Ed Markey, Jim McDermott, Jim McGovern, Jim Moran, Gary Peters, Collin Peterson, David Price, Silvestre Reyes, Linda Sanchez, Jan Schakowsky, Allyson Schwartz, Jose Serrano, Adam Smith, Pete Stark, Bennie Thompson, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Henry Waxman, Peter Welch, and Frederica Wilson.
GOP Congressional Insiders Sens. Lamar Alexander, John Cornyn, Jim DeMint, John Ensign, Lindsey Graham, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Johnny Isakson, Richard Lugar, Jeff Sessions, Olympia Snowe, John Thune, David Vitter; Reps. Michele Bachmann, Brian Bilbray, Marsha Blackburn, John Boehner, Charles Boustany, Kevin Brady, John Campbell, Eric Cantor, John Carter, Tom Cole, Mike Conaway, Jeff Denham, Charlie Dent, David Dreier, Sean Duffy, Jo Ann Emerson, Jeff Flake, Scott Garrett, Bob Goodlatte, Trey Gowdy, Kay Granger, Doc Hastings, Nan Hayworth, Darrell Issa, Mike Kelly, Peter King, Jack Kingston, Adam Kinzinger, John Kline, Dan Lungren, Kenny Marchant, Kevin McCarthy, Patrick McHenry, John Mica, Candice Miller, Sue Myrick, Devin Nunes, Mike Pence, Tom Price, Dave Reichert, Mike Rogers of Michigan, Phil Roe, Paul Ryan, Aaron Schock, Pete Sessions, Adrian Smith, Steve Stivers, Lee Terry, Pat Tiberi, Fred Upton, Daniel Webster, and Joe Wilson.
This article appears in the Feb. 19, 2011, edition of National Journal.
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