Federalism

Federalism Federalism is a political system comprised of several local units of government and one national government that can both make decisions with respect to at least some governmental activities and whose existence is specially protected. Sovereignty is shared so that on some matters the national government is supreme, and on some matters the state governments are supreme. But in the last twenty-five years, the increase of federal mandates on state and local governments has shifted the balance of power between national and state governments. The national government is beginning to have more control over the states’ actions. Federal mandates are rules imposed by the federal government on the states as conditions for obtaining federal grants or requirements that the states pay the costs of certain nationally defined programs. Unfunded federal mandates usually concern civil rights or the environment. Since the 1970’s, the number of federal mandates imposed by Congress and the courts have greatly increased. As more mandates are created by Congress, the national government gains more control over the state governments. The states follow the conditions laid out in the mandates so that they will be eligible to receive money in the form of federal grants. Therefore, the national government, state, governments, federal, mandates, national, mandate, local, states, act, enacted, disabilities, americans, united, powerful, people, over, one, disabled, congress, conditions, becoming, unfunded, transportation, therefore, supreme, sovereignty, shared, services, requires, provide, power, out, opportunities, must, matters