Federalism today 89funds came with strings attached. For example, the 1964 Civil Rights Act required
nondiscrimination as a condition for receiving any kind of federal grants. The
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 gave the federal government
heightened control over public education by attaching conditions to federal grant money.More Unfunded Mandates Despite the legislation enacted by Congress designed
to curb unfunded mandates, the practice has continued. President George W. Bush
imposed significant mandates related to education testing, sales tax collection, emer-
gency management, infrastructure, and election administration. President Barack
Obama’s administration required state governments to adopt policies preventing dis-
crimination against the disabled and mandated reforms to local school lunch menus.
And the conflict over sanctuary cities discussed in the chapter opener is partly about an
unfunded mandate: local communities are expected to keep suspected illegal residents
in jail until federal authorities can arrange for a transfer, even though the federal gov-
ernment does not reimburse them for the cost of the detention.
The fact that members of Congress enact unfunded mandates makes sense
given the themes of this textbook. First, politics is about conflict, and when there is
disagreement between the federal and state government over what policies should
look like, we should expect each side to do whatever it can to advance its own priorities.
Second, the rules matter. The fact that the Constitution prioritizes federal law over
state law, coupled with increased federal aid to state and local governments, gives the
federal government considerable leverage to get its way when conflicts arise.The States Fight Back
Most Americans support some of the policies that have been imposed on the states:
racial equality, clean air and water, a fair legal process, safer highways, and equal
access to the voting booth. At the same time, there has always been considerable
opposition in some states to federal mandates, whether unfunded or otherwise. For
example, over 20 states have refused to accept federal funds to expand Medicaid as
outlined in the Affordable Care Act. While the law initially did not give states the
flexibility to opt out of the expansion, the Supreme Court found that mandating that
states expand their Medicaid programs to receive these funds was unconstitutional.In response to the Bush and Obama
administrations’ perceived overreach
into education policy, current
secretary of education Betsy DeVos
has led the Trump administration’s
efforts to roll back the federal
government’s power over education.Full_04_APT_64431_ch03_070-101.indd 89 16/11/18 1:30 PM