cross-posted from the North Carolina Tenth Amendment Center

There is a bill expected to come before the federal congress this week, called the TRAIN Act. I received an email that described the need to act limit the power of the EPA so:

The TRAIN ACT would:
– Fight back against EPA regulations that would raise energy prices for consumers and destroy jobs
– Reject the EPA’s attempt to shut down coal as one key source of our energy needs
– Ensure that America continues to be able to use its own natural resources for energy, as opposed to relying more on foreign sources of energy
Call NOW and tell your Representative to vote YES on the TRAIN ACT!

This all sounds wonderful and beneficial to America. I have a question: What will happen once we have hacked off these particular thorny branches from the EPA brambles? Obviously, they will just return to snag us again, and will continue to grow in other locations. This bill does not address the root cause of the problem: The EPA is nowhere authorized in the U.S. Constitution. At the TAC, we say: The Constitution: every issue, every time, no exceptions, no excuses.

Here in North Carolina, in the 2011 legislative session, H240 – The Intrastate Commerce Act was introduced by Representative Glen Bradley and co-sponsored by Representatives Mark Hilton, Bert Jones, Shirley Randleman and Harry Warren. This bill is similar to the Intrastate Commerce Act model legislation on TenthAmendmentCenter.com. This legislation is a real solution to the problems created by the EPA: it recognizes the reality that the federal government simply does not have the power to regulate commerce within our state. It addresses the root of the problem, instead of hacking away at branches.

It is time for North Carolinians to take responsibility for our economy and stop blaming our problems on an out of control federal government, and then begging that same federal government to curtail its powers. It is time for the people of North Carolina to accept this well-proven fact: the federal government will never limit it’s own powers. I would personally like to thank these alert and thoughtful NC representatives listed above who sponsored NC’s Intrastate Commerce Act. They are leaders who are acting like adults, taking responsibility for their own lives, and stopping to seek approval from or cast blame on the federal government. If you live in North Carolina, then I hope that you will take a moment to thank these representatives also, they certainly deserve our thanks and support. Then, take a moment and email this article to your representative. Ask them to support the Intrastate Commerce Act and other legislation like it.

If you want to call your federal congressman and tell them to continue tilting at windmills then feel free. Personally, I’m tired of this Quixotic theater of the absurd. I know that only the people of North Carolina are going to protect the people of North Carolina: my family, my neighbors and my state representatives. The time for self-reliance and personal responsibility is now.

Kevin Baynes