(The Central Square) – Republicans in Congress, led by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to limit members’ terms in Congress.
The amendment would limit Senators to two six-year terms and House members to three two-year terms.
The two-page resolution states that after the amendment is passed by Congress and ratified by the states, it will take effect “within seven years of the date of its submission by the Congress.”
The resolution proposes that a member of the United States House be ineligible for reelection after serving three terms. After serving two terms, a senator is no longer eligible for re-election or appointment to the Senate.
“Term limits are critical to fixing what’s wrong with Washington, D.C.,” Cruz, who was recently reelected to his third term in the Senate, stated.
“The Founding Fathers envisioned a government of citizen legislators who would serve for a few years and then return home, rather than a government run by a small group of special interests and lifelong, permanently entrenched politicians who take advantage of Washington’s brokenness to govern in an entirely unaccountable manner to the American people.
Term limits ensure long-overdue accountability. I urge my colleagues to move this amendment to the states so that it can be quickly ratified and made a constitutional amendment.”
Republican Senators Mike Lee of Utah, Rick Scott of Florida, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Todd Young of Indiana, Steve Daines of Montana, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Katie Britt of Alabama, and Jim Banks of Indiana are among those who have cosponsored the joint resolution with Cruz.
US Representative Ralph Norman, R-SC, introduced the companion resolution in the US House. “Elected office should represent a short-term privilege of public service, not a career choice,” Norman told reporters.
“Those of us in Congress ought to serve for a reasonable period of time and then return home to live under the laws we enacted.”
Sen. Cruz has previously introduced resolutions proposing a constitutional amendment to impose term limits in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023.
According to The Center Square, Cruz has also proposed amending the Constitution to end so-called birthright citizenship.
Amending the US Constitution is not a simple task.
It requires a two-thirds vote in both the United States House and Senate. The president has no constitutional role in this process. The amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50).
The Constitution can also be amended by a constitutional convention convened by two-thirds of state legislatures. This has never occurred. Congress passed all 27 amendments to the Constitution, which were then ratified by the states. The Constitution was last amended in 1992.
