Unfunded Federal Mandates
In 1995, Congress passed the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act. The Act was designed to make Congress more accountable when enacting legislation that imposes federal mandates on state, local, and tribal governments, without also providing the funding to cover the increased expense. It establishes a procedure to ensure that members of Congress have to vote on unfunded federal mandates contained in legislation. Unfortunately, the Act has not been as successful as originally envisioned. Congress continues to pass legislation that imposes unfunded mandates with only a nod to the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act. The resolution below was adopted prior to the passage of the Act.
Unfunded Federal Mandates Resolution
WHEREAS, the federal government has been imposing unfunded mandates on states and local governments; and
WHEREAS, the amount of the federal government's contribution to the revenues of state and local governments has declined since 1979; and
WHEREAS, legislation (S.993, H.R. 4771) has been introduced which is designed to strengthen the partnership between federal, state and local governments by ensuring that the impact of legislative proposals that would impose mandates in excess of $50 million are given full consideration by Congress before they are considered; and
WHEREAS, congressional committees reporting legislation imposing a mandate in excess of $50 million would have to include a statement of the amount of increased authorization of federal financial assistance to fund the costs of the mandate; and
WHEREAS, the legislation would require that federal agencies establish a process that permits state and local governments to have greater input into the regulatory process; and
WHEREAS, this legislation has bipartisan congressional support and has been endorsed by a large number of state and local government management associations; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the International Personnel Management Association urges Congress to enact S. 993 and H.R. 4771