If you go deep into the reeds and rushes of the federal stimulus bill, you'll find:SEC. 1112. ADDITIONAL ASSURANCE OF APPROPRIATE USE OF FUNDS.
None of the funds provided by this Act may be made available to the State of Illinois, or any agency of the State, unless (1) the use of such funds by the State is approved in legislation enacted by the State after the date of the enactment of this Act, or (2) Rod R. Blagojevich no longer holds the office of Governor of the State of Illinois.
The preceding sentence shall not apply to any funds provided directly to a unit of local government (1) by a Federal department or agency, or (2) by an established formula from the State.
Got that, Illinois Senate? If you want the money, remove Blagojevich from power or otherwise pass a bill making clear that you trust him with the money. This provision was inserted by Reps. Bill Foster (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), and could cost the state $50 billion in federal aid.
The author goes on to discuss interesting issues of bills of attainder and federal intrusion into state matters. Good read. Again, there's a strong case this is not good policy. But still... awesome.
2 comments:
For what it is worth, I think this is a very bad practice. I am uncomfortable with conditioning the receipt of highway funds on carrying out policies beyond the Congress's constitutional authority, let alone this nonsense.
Oh. My. God.
So the federal government is attempting to strong-arm a state into making an internal decision about the removal of its governor?
That is unconscionable and the Illinois Senate ought to sue the federal government and win.
That's an enormous over-reach.
Post a Comment