Pros And Cons Of The Seventeenth Amendment

Repeal of The 17th Amendment: Current Context

The seventeenth amendment is the amendment to the United States’ constitution that was ratified on April 8th, 1913. It revoked the election of senators by state legislatures and gave the duty of electing senators to American citizens directly. The seventeenth amendment is not currently being proposed by congress; however, many conflicting opinions about the seventeenth amendment’s effect on federalism in the United States result in debates among political parties regarding whether it should be repealed. The Tea Party movement, a political party that stems from the Republican Party and became prominent in 2009, emphasizes negative outcomes of the seventeenth amendment and how a repeal would benefit

The Tea Party now reveals their beliefs about the national government contradicting the idea of federalism. The Tea Party reasons that the national government overrides state governments and interferes with states’ freedoms due to the seventeenth amendment (“Our Vision”). Also, The Tea Party emphasizes the topic of the national government’s control over state-related issues without direct representation from state governments, such as healthcare and education, due to the seventeenth amendment. The Tea Party became the initial cause of the contemplation about repealing the seventeenth amendment (Healy). The national government issued the Obamacare healthcare plan and No Child Left Behind act, which states do not support, but are still mandated to follow and financially contribute to the programs’ extreme expenses (Healy). The expenses are expected to increase over the next ten years and create a burden for the state governments, causing parties such as the Tea Party to conclude that the seventeenth amendment should be repealed in order to allow direct representation for state governments in decisions involving healthcare and education

As a result, Tea Party members and Republicans argue in favor of a repeal, claiming that states are overshadowed in the government system and the seventeenth amendment is a breach of federalism (Lesniewski; Cooke). Despite the happenings that result in opinions of repealing the seventeenth amendment for the purpose of improving federalism in the United States, most states have implemented policies that ensure the direct participation of citizens in elections, causing liberals to believe that the repeal of the 17th amendment would not benefit the government because the states would not revert back to electing senators without direct input from citizens