Mandate Madness ─ How Congress Forces States and Localities to Do Its Bidding and Pay for the Privilege

Citing the effectiveness of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) of 1995, as equal to posting the Sixth Commandment in a strip club, Bennett spotlights the unfunded federal mandate--popular with both parties, liberals and conservatives alike--which forces state and local governments to do the federal government’s bidding, while lower levels of government get to foot the bill—gutless glory for politcos. He largely focuses on unfunded federal mandates that fall under the crossover sanctions category, whereby the federal government will threaten to eliminate or reduce grants if states do not adopt certain policies. (In 1998, the GAO published The Politics of Unfunded Mandates: Whither Federalism? in which six types of mandates are described: direct orders; crosscutting requirements; crossover sanctions; partial preemption; total preemption; and major program-specific grant conditions.) In nine chapters mixing analysis, history, legal and legislative details, Bennett examines the development, growth, and revision of the unfunded federal mandate as seen through the lens of some of the most colorful and controversial of the laws: the 55-mph speed limit; the national 21-year-old drinking age; No Child Left Behind; and the Help America Vote Act; REAL ID; and national seat-belt or motorcycle helmet laws. Nine chapters are divided into two parts: roads, rum, and restraints; ABCs, IDs, and voting: mandates for the twenty-first century. There are notes. Annotation c2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)