Term-Limits in the U.S.

Term-Limits in the U.S. Encouraging the Return of Citizen Legislators Volume 1. Issue 1 Table of Contents Same Stuff 1 The Big Deal 1 A Few Terms 2 Why Does it Matter 2 What Would they Do 3 Benefits 3 Incumbency Rates 4 How to Implement 4 Who to Talk to 5 Sources 5 The basic idea for success in the United States government is a series of checks and balances. The three branches control one another in a few ways and lose to the other in other ways. The people are the ones who are in control of everything. In order for this system to work the people need to vote often and stay involved in politics to know what is going on and so they can fix it come election time. The voting populous has become disinterested in politics and so long that we boast one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the democratic world. People who do not care to do the research and understand the issues mostly leans on the default choice in elections or they just plain simply don't vote. What this does is leads to people being reelected into office and securing more power to ensure their continued position in Same Stuff, Different Day Ever turn the news on and just wonder what in the world is going on? I do most days. Everyday there is new story about the United State Congress and some bill trying to be pushed through or some reform being passed with massive opposition from outside of the Congress. What s the Big Deal? government. They do this by making alliances with businesses and lobbyists who push their employees and supporters to support the candidate. In turn the Congressmen slip needless spending and rules on taxes so that those lobbyists and businesses can make and save money. To top it off, Congress has the ability to raise its own pay. What used to be a service with little pay that went on a daily payment has turned into a high paying position with an annual salary. When problems arise these Congress men and women are hard pressed to act in the best interest of those the secure their job instead of acting in the best interest of the ones they are supposed to serve. When their temptation to secure their office outweighs their obligation to the people it leads to a poorly run government and nation. Bailouts are given to companies from both sides of the isle, passing legislation in order to help out their union, company, or lobbyist friends, being so ingrained with party pride that they refuse to do what is best for the county and make reasonable policies, creating newer ways for them to assume more power for their branch, and making shady deals between each other so they can receive more funds for their own purposes. These are the tactics of politicians since the dawn of democracy, the only difference is that those old ones never served in office as long as these people. Roman Emperors were usually stabbed and poisoned because they had been in power for what the people believed was too long. The years of policies from the same people has put the nation into a position of crisis. Laws need to be passes and reforms need to be made the help the nation, not necessarily those that lead the nation. The worst part is that Americans have become so apathetic toward politics and have faith in those that promise them help, rather than the entire nation, re-elect the same members of Congress, believing that if they vote out their powerful representative they will be at a disadvantage. Term-limits is the simplest solution to abusive incumbency. Term-limits will ensure that politicians don't become seduced by power and comfort of the office. Termlimits would also bring in newer candidates with new ideas for the future of the county. PAGE 1

Terms of the Limits A term limit is a restriction that limits the number of terms can serve in a particular elected position. Term -Limits can vary from place to place. Some positions have no limits, while others have a strict set of limits a person my serve in a certain position. There are two types: Consecutive and Lifetime limits. Lifetime Consecutive This is the more strict of the two types of term limits. This limit means that a person my only serve in a certain office for a set amount of years for their entire life time. Once their time is up, they may never again run for that position. (A person may only be president for a max of two terms regardless of when they are). This limit means that a person may only hold an office for so many times in a row before they have to give up that position, but once they are out of that office for a full term they may be re-elected for another however many terms before being forced to sit out again. There is no set rule on how many times they can be elected, only the amount of times they can be elected consecutively. What do Have to do With Anything? are created when it seams as though a certain branch of government, or an individual position of a branch of government, is believed to have become to powerful and influential and has the potential to have an unfair advantage in the delicate balance of powers in a government. In the ancient world, both Greeks and Romans had elected officials in their government and each had a set of term limits for certain positions. In the Roman Republic the position of Censor was regulated to only one term of 18 months. A senator s term was 12 months but they could be elected indefinitely. The Censor was a man who registered citizens and their property, decides what class a person falls under, administrates the finances of the state of Rome, and upkeep the public morals. He even made sure that the senators where in acting appropriately to their position in the Senate Chamber The Romans felt that if a person were to grow a large enough following of wealthy senators and families, he would act in their best interest and not in the best interest of Rome, so they were only allowed to hold the position long enough to do the job correctly. What does ancient Rome and Greece have to do with modern America? The idea of regulating how many times a person can hold an office still lives. The President of the United States can only be president twice in a lifetime and even in the beginning of the country the framers debated heavily on whether or not limits should be set on public officials, and for the first decade there were limits under the Articles of Confederation. Members of Congress who make 30+ year careers serving in Congress have assumed too much power and influence. They have turned a service position into a career. High ranking members of Congress have annual salary from the government just under $175,000 1, even though over half of congress are millionaires. An example of this is Speaker of the House John Boehner (below right) who has a net-worth between 2.5-2.7 million dollars 1. He assumed his position in the House of Representatives in January 1991, just over 20 years ago. His counterpart Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (below left) has served since 1987 and is worth an estimated $58 million. The Athenian Council of 500 limited an individual to two year long terms in his lifetime and he may not serve those back-toback. Also, if appointed head of the Council, he may not serve it in his second term. PAGE 2

What would do? Because term-limits are spread out in different areas of America and for different public offices, it is hard to say 100% that term-limits would be the end all answer to the woes of Congress, or even a minor solution, but term limits would generate benefits that would help the people. Suggested Benefits and Response to Opposition Term-limits will guarantee that our elected officials do not stay in office long enough to be seduce by lobbyist and business that influence the actions and decisions of Congressmen and women today. The idea being that those groups and business won t risk wasting money on influencing a member of Congress that won t be there long enough to pass a major law for their benefit. Knowing that they will only have a certain amount of time in office will only bring out the politicians who actually best serve the needs of the people, rather than those that would just re-elect them. They will vote more often with their morals rather than just with their parties. Encourages new challengers the office, therefore finding the best candidate for the job rather than the one with the most ties and money. The incumbency re-election rate is around 95% 2, so as it stands term-limits could really only generate more potential nominees for office. It will favor those that have achieved what is necessary to hold office based off of merit in their careers rather than by inherited money of connections. People who have a lot of money would not make themselves open to public criticism just to helping people The amount of wasteful spending will go down. The elected officials who have aspiration to make a career out of being a member of Congress will push for money to go to their constituents, whether or not they actually need it, so that they will re-elected that official over and over again so that they can continue to get things. The late Senator Byrd was a master of this as he was nicknamed in the Senate the King of Pork While imposing a definite amount of years a person can serve would get rid of the good politicians as well as the bad ones who have made friends with the lobbyists, businesses, and wield the most power. Besides, most politicians that can claim they aren't in deep with businesses and interest groups haven't been there long enough to become friends with them and term limits would ensure that they never do. Term-limits will not rid Congress of the experience and the knowledge needed to function. The President of the United States has been operating under term-limits since George Washington set the two term tradition, with the exception to Franklin D. Roosevelt who ran and was elected four times, and that position has operated just fine. A recent example of lack of experience: President Barrack Obama was in the U.S. Senate for only two years before campaigning and eventually becoming President over a man that had over 25 years in politics. That shows that America is willing to vote inexperienced politicians into the most important role in government. So why not do it to Congress? PAGE 3

These two graphs show the incumbency return rates in elections since 19654 and shows that the percentages and chances of new comers actually getting elected to Congress. How Can Term-Limits Even be Implemented Essentially, term-limits on Congress would be an extremely difficult thing to pass. Firstly, term-limits for Congress have already gone down the road of constitutionality when 23 states imposed term-limits on their national representatives. The Supreme Court said that the states do not have the right to limit the amount of terms a person may serve his/her country as a U.S. Congressperson. The only body that can impose such a limitation is the national legislature (i.e.congress). The reason for this is because Congress members are elected directly by the people and not by the electoral colleges of the states. Therefore, the people would have to vote for term-limits, meaning the elected members of Congress. Asking for Congressional term-limits is asking a Congressperson to impose self limitation on their time and power. Another fun shield for members of Congress to hid behind is voting. If people are truly unhappy with the performance of those that represent them, they would simply vote them out. But rarely in elections to incumbents lose and most of the time new, quality opponents who are not well known do not even make the ballot. So how can people get represented by people who will support term limits. During the campaign make sure that the candidate you throw you hat in with supports the concept of term-limits. In the 2010 election there were 12 new members of congress 3 who support term limits voted into office. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) Congressman David Schweikert (R- AZ) Congressman David Rivera (R-FL) Congressman Michael Pompeo (R- KS) Congressman Frank Guinta (R-NH) Congressman John Sullivan (R-OK) Congressman Jeff Duncan (R-SC) Congressman Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) Congressman Ralph Hall (R-TX) Congressman Joe Walsh (R-IL) Congressman Tim Scott (R-SC) PAGE 4

What and Who You can Contact There are many different ways that you can voice you opinion about term-limits and what you feel should be done regarding them. The debate for term-limits may get lost in these upcoming debates about the budget and how the Congress can manage it and chip away at the debt, and the topic of term limits might even get swept under the rug completely by those that said they would support them under the nation that the last time to have new members in Congress is when the country is in the middle of a crisis. But do not allow them to use the same excuse so we can allow them to continue to make the same mistake. To voice your opinion : Your congressman or women. Go to their website and contact them via email or their office telephone number. Writing to your congressman or woman in a actual letter showing your determination and desire for term limits. Try to make sure term-limits get passed in your local communities. Starting from the bottom up and proving term-limits works on a smaller scale would make it easier to eventually make term-limits a reality in Congress. Whenever a Congressman or women comes to you town to talk to you about what they are doing in Congress and stress to them the importance of term limits. Sign up to the multiple term limit foundation organizations on the internet like www.termlimits.org. The USTL (United States for ) has bi-monthly newsletter and links to new articles about term limits. Would Term-Limits Really Help In the End The shape the government is in financially and the shape the people are in, in terms of jobs, debt, and faith in the government it could only benefit the people to have congressmen and women that would put officials in office that wanted to be there to help the country instead of better their career. It is not the end all solution to the woes of the government, but it is a step in the right direction. Pressure your current and future representatives to vote for term-limits. Sources 1 Longley, Robert. Salaries and Benefits of US Congress Members. About.com. April 2011. <http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/ uscongress/a/congresspay.htm > 2 Re-election Rates Over the Years. opensecrets.org Center for Responsive Politics. 2011. April. 2011 <http:// www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/reelect.php> 3 No Uncertain Terms. termlimits.org. Nov-Dec 2010. April 2011. <http://www.termlimits.org/files/ustl%20nov-dec% 202010.pdf >. PAGE 5