Congress Rely on the Constitution: What a Thought!

There's My Two Cents, always a thought-provoking read, posted the following:

Rep. John Shadegg has proposed a bill (H.R. 450, the Enumerated Powers Act) that would force every piece of legislation to cite the specific section of the Constitution that authorizes that legislation. I'd suggest contacting your Rep to see if he or she is a co-sponsor of this bill, and to encourage them to become one if they are not already.

It would do us all a whole lotta' good to start relying on the Constitution again, don't you think? It served us well for a couple hundred years, so why would we chuck it now?

I agree wholeheartedly.

In light of Congressional antics, I was not too surprised to learn that members of the general public have been shown to know more than their elected officials about America's history and institutions, including our sacred documents, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution of the United States. Attempting to require Congress to read and follow the Constitution is a stretch, but a noble venture nonetheless.

To the left of this post, I've added a widget showing the status of H.R. 450, courtesy of GovTrack.us. It's a fantastic non-partisan resource designed to help you "keep tabs on the U.S. Congress." At this Web site, you can read a bill in its original form, follow changes and amendments made to it, discover who proposed the changes, and so on. If you like, you can request e-mails alerting you to the progress of the bills of interest to you.