Dear Members of the House and Senate:
We are writing you as activists in the tea party and 912 movements, and as believers in the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, which states:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
The recent debt ceiling agreement established an inadequate, centralized system of trying to find $1.5 trillion in savings over the next 10 years by empowering just 12 out of 535 members.
Therefore we ask that in early September, every committee and subcommittee should hold hearings on enforcing the 10th Amendment.
We are convinced that if you will take seriously the complaints from state and local officials about unnecessary red tape, unnecessary federally imposed expenses and federally mandated waste, you will find a lot of the savings you need.
After all, if the federal government did not require so much reporting by businesses, doctors, hospitals and state and local government, billions could be saved in unnecessary compliance costs.
If the federal government allowed businesses, hospitals, doctors and state and local governments to exercise common sense, a lot of federal aid could be eliminated and the money saved.
If you begin the fall session in September with a series of hearings in which the appropriate subcommittees and committees hear from the American people on these topics, you will have a huge menu of savings on your plate by mid October.
Ultimately, we don't just want marginally less expensive government. We want government that is effective, limited and Constitutional. The best way to accomplish this is for you, our elected officials, to enforce the 10th Amendment and return power back to the states respectively, to the people.
Respectfully,
Jim Conklin, Team 10 Iowa
Michelle McManus, Team 10 New Hampshire
Elisabet Wilson, Team 10 South Carolina
Wendy Bloedt, Team 10 Georgia
Guyann Bracken-Fay, Team 10 Florida
Debbie Wilson, Team 10 Florida
Tamara Colbert, Team 10 California
Mike Alexander, Team 10 California
About Team 10
Tea party and 912 Project leaders from around the country are leading Team 10. Through Facebook, the Team is soliciting ideas on how to enforce the 10th Amendment and limit government in Washington. Through voting, online and in-person events, and talking with each other, the best of these ideas will eventually become a "10th Amendment Enforcement Act." As the Republican nominee, Gingrich would include the "10th Amendment Enforcement Act" as part of a new Contract with America. Team 10 is online at www.Newt.org/Team10
Newt Gingrich, Gingrich Campaign Press Release - Team 10 Leaders Seek End to Super-Committee Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/298406