Occasionally, federal intervention has been deemed necessary to stimulate a state response to a widespread problem. However, federal health, safety and environmental bureaucracies have often failed to accomplish their purported goals. This fact and the proven commitment and often superior ability of the states to handle such problems have removed the argument for a continued federal role. In purely intrastate regulatory matters, only the states should establish and enforce regulations. Federal bureaucracies also should review their policies' effectiveness.
Businesses consider a periodic review of their activities to be key to continued success.
Emphasizing federalism means returning primary responsibility for environmental, health and safety problems to states and localities. As they assume responsibility, they should be free from statutes that dictate priorities, standards and technologies. As new problems arise over time, unrecognized problems become apparent and technology improves, states should not be hampered by outdated regulations and old programs. Several legislators have argued that Congress should review and affirm by vote all new regulations, including those written to carry out past legislation. This would increase accountability in two ways.