Abstract
This paper explores the issue of the US congress limit from political parties, the public, and other interest groups. The aim is to assess the possibility of succeeding in a proposed bill that limits congress term. Among the findings is that unlimited term for the congress members makes most of them ineffective in their legislative mandate. The members have become corrupt as they collude with the executive to pass favorable laws and lead to wealth inequality. A proposed bill suggests limiting the term to end the political career in legislation position. There exist similar bills that are still in committees, which also aims to define the duration of service for congress members. However, the laws vary in the number of terms from the proposed one. Such a bill to reduce the term limit receives extensive support from different interest groups and the president, although the court claims that it is unconstitutional. Although the law might face massive opposition in the Senate, Senators do not have an option apart from voting due to public pressure.
Keyword: US Congress Term Limit, Public, Bill,
Term Limits for US congressman
Background of Congress Term Limit
The Problem
Congress does not have a term limit providing legislators an opportunity to spend their entire work life in the positions as long as they win elections. As a result, wealth inequality through corruption is evident, where over 50% of the congress members are millionaires (Sherman Par. 2). Unlimited terms of service reduce member contribution in party ideologies due to lack of career incentive of having a legacy (Olson & Jon 572). Most legislatures have made the position a permanent career and job to the extent that they use bills like Obamacare care as a political tool. There is also so much money the Congress members are wasting seeking for re-election, which would not be the case with a term limit. Most voters, on the other hand, have given up the voting exercise due to the predictable outcomes for decades.
Possible Solutions
One of the possible and direct solutions to the problem is to limit the terms for congress members. Another possible solution is enforcing the policy that all laws affecting the public and public servants should apply to the legislators. The option will mean that the term limit for the political positions starts applying to the legislators. Another possible solution is to reduce salaries and control benefits of the legislators. The alternative will reduce the incentive to serve many terms leading to the rotational election.
Goals of the Bill
The overall goal of the Bill is to end the politicians’ career in legislative positions and, instead, have it as a contract. I believe that the legislator’s position is not a career because such people are supposed to serve the public on defined manifestos, which they provide during campaigns. The overall goal will meet the aim of making legislators loyal to party ideologies, increasing their effectiveness, reducing corruption, controlling spending during elections, and reducing wealth inequality.
Similar Bills
Proposals
There are four similar bills to the one I have proposed seeking to institute a term limit for both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Two of the laws H.J.Res.20 and S. J. RES. 1 aims to have a term limit of 3 terms for the House of Representatives and two runs for the Senate legislators. They also suggest that the terms begin after the ratification of the Bill. Any vacancy which a Senate or House of representative member fills for three and one years, respectively, will be one term.
Another bill, H. J. RES. 14, proposes four terms for the House of Representatives and two runs for the Senate. However, the bill proponent suggests that any years served due to arising vacancy not to count. A different bill, S.J.Res.21 recommends six terms for the House of Representatives and two terms for the Senate. Filled vacancies for one and three years in the House of Representatives and the Senate respectively shall count as a term. The Bill, similar to the other four, proposes that counting starts after the ratification of the article.
Similarities and Differences
The proposed bills are similar to mine, where they all recommends having a term limit for the congress members. However, some differ with mine in the number of terms. I propose three and two runs for the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively. On the contrary, some bills suggest four and two terms for the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively. There is another bill that proposes six runs for the House of Representatives. Another difference is in the proposal of filling vacant positions. While I advocate not to count the filled time as a term, some of the bills advocate to include it and reduce the term for the affected members. They suggest that those who fill the vacancy for more than half of the time for one run will start counting their terms from the time they pick such positions.
Debate on Congress Term Limit
The groups with interest in congress term limits include peace, trade, human rights, and racial organizations. Groups like the European Commission for Democracy Through Law argue that lack of term limits is against democracy since the system has proved inefficiency in having the public replace effective legislators (5). Trade organizations, especially taxpayers, on the other hand, argue that long-serving legislators spend more and increase regulation of trade and tax.
Political parties and their leaders also support term limits. The debate has gained favor across the libertarian and conservative boundaries with political party members arguing lack of consistency in propagating party ideologies (Conway Par. 4). The congress members across parties further support the existence of almost whole house agreement and development of bills like that of the budget, which is ineffective. However, other party members claim that the term limit would be costly to the public and congress as, after every two years, there will be new members to train. The congress would also lose most of the good legislatures due to the expiry of their term.
President Donald Trump, on the other hand, is in support of a term limit and would vote the Bill. Trump is an advocate of ending corruption in the US and especially among government officials (Conway Par. 2). The idea resonates with one of the bill goals to end corruption. Trump, in his presidential campaign, promised to end the sources of legislator’s corrupted finances in Washington through term limits (Conway Par. 2). The president, therefore, is one of the people in support of the issue.
The courts are likely to oppose the Bill. In 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that the limitation of state legislator’s term was unconstitutional (National Conference of State Legislatures [NCSL] Par. 7). The court argued that the constitution already has the qualifications for legislators, and no one else, including legislators themselves, can add such a provision. However, with the current nature of the court where the executive manipulates judges, there are high chances of supporting the Bill, which resonates with Trump’s ideology.
The public and the media also support the term limit for congress members. In 2016, surveys showed that over 74% of the US voters were against the unlimited terms of service, with only 13% opposing limits (Rasmussen Reports Par. 2). The social and mainstream media also hosts a heated debate about the increasing millionaires in congress with support of limit on terms.
The fate of the Bill in the Discussion Board and real US Senate
In the discussion board where I presented the Bill, the majority of the responders were very happy for such a proposal sighting their support. They argued that some congress members are old to the extent that they are no longer effective in serving the public and checking the executive. However, they also expressed concern that the Bill would hardly pass at the Senate since it negatively affects their selfish interests.
In the real US Senate, the debate would narrowly find its way. Although the majority of the senators might be against the Bill, the discussion has come a long way to the extent that it is a prevalent issue in the US. The Bill has no appeal to Senators because it directly impacts their source of income, and to some, politics is a career. Senators claim to be fighting for human rights and public welfare, but that is just a political strategy where limiting congress term has become one of the campaign trails. For example, Susan Collins campaigned for the senate position claiming that she supported the term limit and would only serve for two terms (Collins Par. 1). However, by 2019, Collins was seeking re-election for the fifth time (Collins Par. 1). The option of supporting the proposed Bill would, therefore, have backing from other factors and not a concern for the public and democracy.
Despite the barrier, the Bill enjoys extensive support from the public across the political divide, a position that might pressure the Senate to support unwillingly. In a 2018 survey, 82% of all American voters were for term limits (Jarrett Par. 7). Among the supporters, 82% were Republicans, 83% independent, and 76% Democratic voters (Jarrett Par. 7). Such broad support also reflects on the discussion board. The statistics represent a great loss of confidence with congress, which the senators are aware. In case the Senate does not pass the law, the public might use the long process of seeking constitutional change. Due to such alternative means and pressure from the public without political division, the Senate might have no otherwise despite the Bill affecting them apart from passing it into law.
Works Cited
Olson, Michael P., and Jon C. Rogowski. “Legislative Term Limits and Polarization.” The Journal of Politics 82.2 (2020): 572-586.
Sherman, Army. “Yes, Congress has disproportionate share of millionaires, but claim’s numbers are off.” Politifact.com. 2020. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/jan/22/facebook-posts/yes-congress-has-disproportionate-share-millionair/. 22 Jun. 2020.
H.J.Res. 20 — 116th Congress: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the number of … https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/hjres20. June 22, 2020
S.J.Res. 1 — 116th Congress: A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to … https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/sjres1. June 22, 2020
H.J.Res.14 — 116th Congress: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the number of terms that a Member of … https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-joint-resolution/14/text. June 22, 2020
S.J.Res.21 — 116th Congress (2019-2020): Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States relative to the line item veto, a limitation on the number of… https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/21/text. 22 Jun. 2020.
European Commission for Democracy Through Law. “Report on Term-Limits.” Venice.coe.int. 18 March 2019. https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2019,)007-e. 22 Jun. 2020.
Conway, Madeline. “Trump calls for congressional term limits.” Politico.com. 2016. https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/donald-trump-congressional-term-limits-229950. 22 Jun. 2020.
National Conference of State Legislatures [NCSL]. “Term Limits and the Courts.” Ncsl.org. n.d. https://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/summaries-of-term-limits-cases.aspx. 22 Jun. 2020.
Rasmussen Reports. “More Voters Than Ever Want Term Limits for Congress.” Rasmussenreports.com. 2016. https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/october_2016/more_voters_than_ever_want_term_limits_for_congress. 22 Jun. 2020.
Collins, Steve. “Term limits remain a hot issue on the campaign trail. Sunjournal.com. 2019. https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/12/20/term-limits-remain-a-hot-issue-on-the-campaign-trail/. 22 Jun. 2020.
Jarrett, Kim. “Pennsylvania state lawmakers back effort to establish term limits in Congress.” Thecentersquare.com. 2018. https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-state-lawmakers-back-effort-to-establish-term-limits-in-congress/article_96383a4a-b877-11e9-a030-1f99aa33afde.html. 22 Jun. 2020.