Governor McCrory along with 24 other governors across the country sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell today urging the 114th Congress to work actively to restore balance between the states and the federal government over the course of the session.
A copy of the letter can be found here, attached to this release, and is excerpted below.
“As governors of states and territories across this nation, we have a keen interest in the legislation you will move forward in the 114th session of Congress. We believe that the budget and appropriations bills, as well as regulatory reform initiatives, provide an opportunity for Congress to restore balance between the states (to include US territories) and federal government. We are convinced that if states would be provided greater flexibility and control of funds and regulatory authority over a multitude of programs, we would be able to better and more efficiently serve the needs of our citizens.
For a long time states were willing to trade off power and responsibility for federal taxpayer funds, but we have reached a tipping point where states serve to carry out the wishes of the federal government instead of serving as laboratories of democracy.
We have confidence in our states’ ability to manage our affairs, and we want to work with you to change the federal budget, appropriations and regulatory processes to allow states greater flexibility and increased authority.
We firmly believe that increased state autonomy will reap benefits in critical areas such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, energy, environment, and employment.
The principle of federalism ingrained in the Constitution must be restored, and we encourage you to devolve back to the states the ability to run programs, make decisions, and develop innovative solutions.”
