Should Congress Have Term Limits?

• Author: Desantis, Ron
• Position: Debate

The 22nd Amendment says presidents can be elected to no more than two four-year terms. Congress passed the amendment in 1947--a couple of years after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four-term presidency ended--and states ratified it in 1951. But there are no restrictions on how long members of Congress can serve, and many have held their seats for decades. Now, Republicans are sponsoring bills in the House and Senate to amend the Constitution to impose congressional term limits.

Here, one of the bill's sponsors debates a political scientist about the proposal.

YES

Americans increasingly see Washington, D.C., as a "swamp" filled with career politicians and unaccountable bureaucrats and lobbyists. In order to change the way Washington works, we must change the incentives for the players inside that swamp, particularly members of Congress. To do this, we need to institute congressional term limits.

To that end, I have introduced a constitutional amendment limiting House members to three two-year terms, and senators to two six-year terms.

A recent Rasmussen poll found that Americans on both sides of the political aisle overwhelmingly favor term limits. The Founding Fathers intended those on Capitol Hill to be citizen legislators working in the best interests of their constituents, not a class of political elites focused primarily on keeping themselves in office.

Term limits would change priorities in Washington by putting an expiration date on each member's tenure. No longer would they need to operate by the rules of the swamp to survive politically. Instead, their new primary incentive would be to achieve tangible results. With a fixed number of terms, members would be focused on making their limited time in office matter.

Under our current system, leadership positions are often given to those with seniority or fundraising prowess, not necessarily to those most qualified. Members of Congress with passion and expertise on policy issues have to wait years until they are able to serve in a leadership position and make significant legislative changes. Term limits would also allow the best-qualified lawmakers to rise to the top more quickly. This would give reformers and issue experts the opportunity to produce more-effective legislation.

We don't have to be beholden to the ruling elite who currently inhabit the swamp. Term limits would restore government accountability to Washington and return government to the hands of the people.

--CONGRESSMAN...