Reassessing the relationship between the federal government and the states, Congress: Facilitator of State Action examines how the U.S. Congress routinely and necessarily devolves power to the states. A host of congressional statutes reveal the ways in which the U.S. Congress facilitates state action to solve certain problems, including the enforcement of respective criminal laws. Financial and nonfinancial assistance to the states are elucidated and assessed, including technical assistance and the establishment of such programs as the National Driver Register. Comprehensive and timely, this book illuminates a key dynamic in the country's political system and offers a more complex and accurate theory of federalism.

Joseph F. Zimmerman is Professor of Political Science at the University at Albany, State University of New York. His many books include Contemporary American Federalism: The Growth of National Power, Second Edition; The Silence of Congress: State Taxation of Interstate Commerce; and The Government and Politics of New York State: Second Edition, all published by SUNY Press.