Congressional Term Limits Are Long Past Due

Term limits in the United States currently apply to many offices at both the federal, state, and local levels, dating all the way back to the American Revolution. Heck, the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution sets term limits for the US President who can now only serve two four-year terms. After it was ratified by the requisite 36 of the then-48 States, it went into force back on February 27, 1951.

Selected Articles

The following are a series of recent articles or reports on Term Limits for Congress.

• Term Limits: The Only Way to Clean Up Congress – The Heritage Foundation

• GOP Senators propose Congressional Term Limits – The Hill

• Five Reasons to Oppose Congressional Term Limits - Brookings Institution

• Congressional Term Limits: Countering Power Abuse or Counterproductive? - Federal Times

• Senate Panel Debates Term Limits for Congress Members – Courthouse News Service

• Term Limits in the United States - Ballotpedia

Some of the key takeaways from these articles or reports are -

• The concept of Term Limits is supported by a majority of Republicans, Democrats and Independents.
• Resistance to term limits by legislators is in sharp contrast with private citizens' strong support for them.
• The only serious opponents of term limits are incumbent politicians and the special interests that support them.
• Proposed term limits for members of US House of Representatives tend to center around 4-6 terms at most. For US Senators, a 2 term limit seems to be the most popular choice.
• One major concern is that it may shift too much power into the hands of professional Congressional staffers.

Again - It appears the public agrees that it is now well past time to move forward to implement term limits for all members of Congress. A recent McLaughlin & Associates poll found that 82% of Americans now favor term limits. What do you think? Let our readers know.