LUMBERTON — Two members of Congress from North Carolina have added their voices to the call for term limits for federal lawmakers.

And if history is any indication, the two pieces of legislation to which Rep. George Holding and Sen. Thom Tillis have attached their names are doomed to die in their respective chambers.

One reason is a loss of appetite by lawmakers since 1995 when then House Speaker Newt Gingrich got four term-limit proposals to the House floor, said Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst for the John Locke Foundation. The proposals were products of Gingrich’s Contract With America, a central promise of which was congressional term limits.

All four proposals were voted down in March 1995.

Another reason there is little chance term limits will be adopted by members of Congress is many people argue there already is a mechanism for enforcing term limits: the ballot box, Kokai said. Term limits opponents say if voters don’t like what their elected members of Congress members are doing they can vote them out.

“The main thing is you just can’t get enough support whether Republicans are in power or Democrat,” Kokai said.

Still, term-limits legislation seems to get introduced at least once in every two-year congressional session.

Tillis, a Republican, co-sponsored legislation that calls for amending the U.S. Constitution. The amendment would limit senators to two six-year terms and members of the House of Representatives to three two-year terms.

“It is past time for members of Congress to amend the Constitution and impose long-needed term limits on its members,” Tillis said. “I am proud to co-sponsor this legislation and bring long-needed accountability to members of Congress, and I will work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to build support for ratification of this amendment.”

The legislation was introduced Wednesday by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Other co-sponsors were Sens. Marco Rubio, of Florida; Mike Lee, of Utah; David Perdue, of Georgia; Mike Braun, of Indiana; Ben Sasse, of Nebraska; and Steve Daines, of Montana. All are Republicans.

“For too long, members of Congress have abused their power and ignored the will of the American people,” Cruz said. “Term limits on members of Congress offer a solution to the brokenness we see in Washington, D.C. It is long past time for Congress to hold itself accountable. I urge my colleagues to submit this constitutional amendment to the states for speedy ratification.”

On Tuesday, Holding, a Republican representing N.C. District 2, introduced an amendment to the Constitution. The amendment would limit U.S. senators to two six-year terms and members of the U.S. House of Representatives to six two-year terms.

“Since the government shutdown began, we’ve seen plenty of posturing and finger-pointing — but not much common sense. Sadly, this is the new normal in American politics,” Holding said. “Term limits will put an end to politics-as-usual in Washington, help restore a citizen legislature, and encourage elected officials to do what’s best for their constituents, instead of special interests.

“It’s time for elected officials to start making a difference, not a career.”

Lack of action by federal lawmakers seems to fly in the face of what appears to be overwhelming support among Americans for term limits.

On Jan. 15, 2018, McLaughlin & Associates released a summary of a survey the national survey research and strategic services company recently completed.

The summary reads in part, “Support for term limits is broad and strong across all political, geographic and demographic groups. An overwhelming 82 percent of voters approve of a constitutional amendment that will place term limits on members of Congress.”

In January 2013 Gallup, a global analytics and advice firm, conducted a survey in which voters were asked if given the chance would they vote for term limits. Seventy-five percent of the respondents said they would.

For either of the pieces of legislation introduced this week to be successful in leading to the amendment of the Constitution they must be approved by a two-thirds super-majority in both chambers of Congress and then be ratified by three-fourths of the American states, or 38 out of 50.

Holding
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_holding.jpgHolding

Tillis
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_Tillis-1.jpgTillis

T.C. Hunter

Managing editor

Reach T.C. Hunter by calling 910-816-1974 or via email at [email protected].