ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book begins with an overview of the history of unfunded federal mandates and a survey of the political debate and gamesmanship surrounding them. It explores the growth, revision, and development of the unfunded federal mandate by concentrating on several of the most controversial and colorful of the laws. The book examines legislative efforts to rein in or repeal unfunded federal mandates, most notably the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) of 1995, which addressed the problem, at least superficially-or perhaps only superficially. It looks at the treatment of unfunded federal mandates by the federal courts, which have, in recent years, shown glimmers of sympathy for federalist arguments based on the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution. The book focuses on those unfunded federal mandates that fall under the crossover sanctions category.
