This paper discusses the positions of the (member) state legislatures in the US and the EU and their contribution as political safeguards of federalism. It takes as a case study the role of the US National Conference of the State Legislators in the monitoring of unfunded federal mandates, and the function of EU national parliaments in the scrutiny of the subsidiarity principle. The paper offers some insights based on the US experience related to the understanding and functioning of political safeguards of federalism in the EU.