Clause in Obama Jobs Plan Requires States to Forfeit 11th Amendment Rights

Joel Griffith, Breitbart

9/22/2011

The American Jobs Act exposes states to frivolous lawsuits while providing a boon to trial lawyers seeking government settlement money.  The President made no mention of this boon to the trial bar in his national jobs speech.  Nor does the glossy overview of the American Jobs Act (Act) on the Whitehouse website mention this gift.  Instead, one must delve deep within the bill to perceive this threat to state governments— 376 sections into it to be exact.

Section 376 of the Act guts the Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution by requiring states to forfeit their sovereign immunity rights guaranteed by this Amendment upon receipt of certain government funds.   This opens the door for expensive litigation against states.  Such litigation is a boon for trial lawyers but serves as a millstone around the neck of drowning taxpayers.

And now… the rest of the story. …..