The Repeal Amendment

Since the Constitution was ratified in 1788, there have been over 10,000 amendments proposed to Congress. Of those, only 33 have been approved and only 27 have been ratified and put into effect. Based on these numbers, the chances of The Repeal Amendment ever becoming more than just a proposal is not good. But, in this political climate with Obamacare, the Tea Party, and a skyrocketing federal deficit, anything is possible.

There is clamoring among the Tea Party and among some conservatives for a repeal of Obamacare and the passing of different health care reform. The push for repeal has been fueled by reports of ever increasing Medicare and Medicaid costs, and talk of increased costs in the health care system.

The Repeal Amendment, which hasn't officially been proposed to Congress yet, reads as follows:

"Any provision of law or regulation of the United States may be repealed by the several states, and such repeal shall be effective when the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states approve resolutions for this purpose that particularly describe the same provision or provisions of law or regulation to be repealed."

Currently, if a particular state does not want a piece of federal legislation imposed upon it, there are only two choices. The state can challenge the law in court on constitutional grounds, or seek to have an amendment added to the Constitution. If The Repeal Amendment were passed and ratified, two-thirds of the states could come together and get rid of unwanted federal legislation.

In the past 100 years, the federal government has grown immensely. Back in the early 1900's, the federal budget was around five percent of the gross domestic product. Today, it is around 45 percent. The only time in U.S. history when the percentage was higher was during World War II. With the increased spending, the states have lost power relative to the federal government.

The federal government was set up with its own checks and balances among the branches. The Constitution also includes checks and balances between the states and the feds. One of those is the commerce clause, which was intended to prevent the feds from controlling things that did not affect interstate commerce. However, over time, the power of the feds to do so has been largely unfettered. Evidence of this is the wild growth that the federal budget has undergone over the last 70 years, primarily after the New Deal.

The Repeal Amendment would give the states a check on the feds that would put the balance of power closer to what the Framers of the Constitution intended. It would not completely strip the federal government of power, but it would force federal legislators to take the interests of the states a little more seriously.