The State of American Federalism 1989–1990

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American federalism in 1989-1990 had a certain familiar ring to it. The salient themes and debates of the Reagan era continued to characterize the Bush era-in the White House, the Congress, the Supreme Court, and the states. Where changes could be discerned, they tended to be more stylistic than substantive.' Thus, on 16 February 1990, President George Bush confirmed his administration's support for the New Federalism of the 1980s by reaffirming President Ronald Reagan's 1987 Executive Order 12612, which requires federal executive agencies to conduct federalism assessments of proposed legislation and regulations.2 At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court continued to be divided over policies of abstention from and active intervention in state and local affairs. In the Bush administration, however, there has been a distinct turn toward dialogue and liaison between the White House and state and local governments. For this, the Bush administration has received kudos from many state and local officials for at least lending a sympathetic ear to their concerns. As the executive director of the National Governors' Association said, I'm immensely impressed with how much listening is going on [in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs], but it's liaison activity as opposed to policy-making activity.''3 While the White House has opened communication channels, it has not yet put forth an explicit philosophy of federalism policymaking. At the moment, exhortations to do good, do it better, and do it on the state or local plane perhaps best summarize Bush's approach.