Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 August 2005
The balance of national and state powers has undergone continuousreadjustment since 1790, without a constitutional amendment by meansof numerous congressional preemption statutes superseding completelyor partially certain regulatory powers of the states and therebyeffectuating a major transformation in the federal system. Congresssince 1978 has increased its regulation of subnational governmentsas polities by enacting preemption statutes containing mandates andrestraints (Zimmerman 1994) whilesimultaneously enacting other statutes providing for extensivederegulation of the banking and communications industries andcomplete economic deregulation of the air, bus, and railtransportation companies.