government question

Question

Explain how the federal government has increasingly undertaken direct regulation of areas traditionally reserved to the states. Give examples.

Answer 1

As the federal government has grown - adding departments and bureaucracies -- so too have grown the amount of regulations that it issues. While many of these regulations fall under "federal issues," such as interstate roadways, some have begun to supplant areas that were granted to the states through the 10th Amendment of the Constitution.

The federal government often relies interpretations of the "necessary and proper" or "interstate commerce" clauses in the Constitution to justify these regulations. For example since most companies in the United States DO sell goods from state-to-state, the federal government sees them as under their jurisdiction. Or, in the case of education, the federal government may regulate state education policies through the granting or withholding of funds it distributes to state and local school boards,