Even though constitutional amendments are rare, there’s often talk in America about changing the United States Constitution. Search recent news articles from the last eight weeks and report on a story about an effort to amend the U.S. Constitution. Be sure to explain why an amendment would be needed rather than just a basic change in federal law.

Respond 200+ words

Good evening Professor and class,

The State of Wisconsin has recently been in the news headlines for a call on Congress to form a convention of the States to propose amendments to the Constitution. Assembly Joint Resolution 77 is the topic of discussion. AJR 77 would be targeting three items: implementing spending restraints, limiting federal powers and imposing term limits on federal officials, including members of Congress. On the Democratic side, Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison), argues that it is the rich and wealthy are the ones pushing this issue and that changing the federal government is not for the people, but only for monetary gain. On the Republican side, Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), speaks out at the federal government for “spending us into an oblivion and how can this be controversial unless you are afraid of democracy.”

This appears to be a very good example of a political tug of war that is briefly talked about in Chapter 1.2 of our textbook. It also seems that unless there are some trade-offs or compromises between the two political parties, the budget, federal powers, and term limits will just continue to be talked about bullet points. That would be, after all, quite sad, but not uncommon for topics proposed to the House or to the Senate. For instance, the budget and spending limit has been been at the forefront of debate since I began to vote at 18. I am coming at this topic with a very intense preference, which is discussed in Chapter 1.3 of our textbook.

I believe that the federal spending limit, federal powers, and term limits should all be an amendment to the Constitution and not just federal laws. Federal government spending has been out of control for so many years. As of February 2020, the United States national debt was over 23 trillion dollars. I know that getting rid or lowering the national debt is not going to happen over night, but how many times in the last decade has the federal government shut down over the US budget? How many more times must those that serve this great nation go without getting paid their paychecks over the fact that politicians cannot agree on the budget? Next, I would like to mention term limits. The proposed amendment to the US Constitution for term limits for the House of Representatives and for the Senate officials. There are currently no term limits for any elected official in Congress. The only elected official with a term limit is the President, which is set at 2 terms by the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution. I believe by setting term limits for Congress, it will hopefully start cracking down on the majority of political party disagreements and hopefully start bringing Congress more towards a unified state for the people.

Daniel

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-joint-resolution/20?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22term+limits%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=1

https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2020/02/19/state-assembly-pushes-to-amend-the-u-s-constitution/

Openstax, American Government 2e

Respond 200 words +

The U.S constitution was established in 1789 to provide fundamental laws and certain basic rights under America’s newly formed government. So far only 17 amendments of the existing 27 have actually been ratified since its creation over 200 years ago. In 1972 Congress engaged an ‘Equal Rights’ amendment, its main purpose was to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of gender. Equal rights, and civil rights were being fought for and I believe to this day the fight has not commenced. “Millions of American women still face inequality under the law and injustice in their careers and lives.”Stolberg, S. G. (2020, February 13)

I agree that amendments should be made to the constitution. We live in a different time from when it was written, many things have evolved and progressed and others not so much. We as a people will have to adapt to those changes, if made and send the right message to our children, and future leaders.

Stolberg, S. G. (2020, February 13). House Votes to Extend Deadline to Ratify Equal Rights Amendment. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/13/us/politics/equ…

Respond 200+ words

In response to our forum question, the provisions of the U.S. Constitution which give the federal government its powers regarding healthcare are found in Article I, Section 8, Clause 1. In this provision, Congress is given the power to collect taxes of the American people for the general welfare of our country. This provision also allows for the U.S. government to regulate interstate commerce (Healthcare, 2012). Our nation is capitalistic in nature and our economy thrives because of our private industry. Goods created and services provided are considered private goods. Those goods and services which cannot be provided adequately by the private sector are then provided by the government. These are considered public goods. Emergency Services are an excellent example of this type of service provided by the government at no cost (Krutz, 2019). Even though there is nothing in the Constitution which mandates the government provide healthcare, Congress is responsible for the welfare of the people and under Article I, programs such as Medicaid and Medicare are established, as well as health care providers are governed. The Supreme Court also plays a role and interprets the Constitution to mean those who cannot afford healthcare should not be denied it in time of need (Healthcare, 2012).

A recent article by Politico reported on Congress’ effort to add legislation to the next Coronavirus Bill which helped to combat “surprise billing” for Coronavirus patients who have undergone medical treatment for exposure to the virus. Members of the Senate HELP committee (Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions) are pursuing the legislation to stop these massive unexpected medical bills from continuing to occur. This is an excellent example of how Congress helps regulate the health care sector (Luthi, 2020).

Citations (APA)

Health Care: Constitutional Rights and Legislative Powers. (2012, July 9). Retrieved April 9, 2020, from https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R40846.html

Krutz, G. (2019, February 21). What is Government? – American Government 2e. Retrieved April 9, 2020, from https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/…

Luthi, S. (2020, April 9). Surprise billing fix could hitch ride on next coronavirus relief bill. Retrieved April 0, 2020, from https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/09/billing-c…