Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations in 1996: The End of an Era

Abstract

On 30 September 1996 the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR) closed its doors, ending thirty-seven years of advocacy for federalism and intergovernmental relations. A majority of members in the Congress felt that A CIR had become irrelevant to the issues facing them and agreed that little would be lost by terminating the commission. The Clinton administration, although supportive until near the end, withdrew its'support out of displeasure with the commission's handling of the unfunded federal mandates issue. The national associations representing state and local governments were ambivalent. ACIR was no longer looked to for solutions to the nation's intergovernmental relations problems. With the exit of ACIR, the federal government's last resource for addressing broad intergovernmental issues—beyond the confines of individual programs—is gone.