The Commission on intergovernmental relations Page: 33
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mestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the
general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty * * *"
Fifth it follows that the basic problems of maintaining our
federal system todaie in thoseareas of National and State
power where both Congress and the States have real choices to
make and where many alternative courses of action are open.
It is n these areas that practice issues arise and tensions between
interested groups and organizations are felt. Legislatures and
administrative agencies within their assigned jurisdictions provide
the appropriate forums for settling these issues.
Under our federal system, the division of responsibilities between
the National Government and the States was once thought
to be settled mainly in terms of power: either one level, or both,
or neither, had the authority to move; and that was enough to
settle their functions. Such a decision was usually one for the
judiciary. Under current judicial doctrine, there are still limits
on the coercive powers at both levels, but the National powers
are broad and the possibilities by means of spending are still
broader. The crucial questions now are questions of policy:
Which level ought to move? Or should both? Or neither?
What are the prudent and proper divisions of labor and responsibility
between them? These are questions mainly for legislative
judgment, and the criteria are chiefly political, economic, and
administrative, rather than legal. The emphasis is on mutual
and complementary undertakings in furtherance of common
aims. The task of this Commission, accordingly, is to determine,
within the constitutional limits of National and State powers,
and in the light of 165 years of practical experience, what division
of responsibilities is best calculated to sustain a workable basis
for intergovernmental relations in the future.
SUMMARY
Our federal system is a unique phenomenon, without an earlier
model and bearing only a general resemblance to later federal
systems established elsewhere. It is the product partly of human
purpose, partly of unconscious adaptation to the circumstances
and the felt needs of our people. It has survived the vicissitudes
of over a century and a half of our history to become now the oldMILLSAPS
WILSON LIBRARY 33
MILLSAPS COLLEGE
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United States. Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. The Commission on intergovernmental relations, book, June 1955; Washington, D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1051/m1/47/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.