C060323c Limited Term Limits

Section I, No person elected to the U.S. House of Representatives shall serve more than 12 consecutive
years. A minimum of 6 years must intervene before a person who served 12 consecutive years may serve
again. No person shall serve in the U.S. House of Representatives more than 12 years during any 18 year
period. Reapportionment within a district or state shall not change the affects of Section I.

Section II, Upon passage of this amendment, and not less than 8 months prior to a federal general election
that occurs in an even number year, any current members having exceeded the 12 consecutive years
provision shall be replaced by the following method. The forty percent of the members exceeding the 12
consecutive years provision by the largest number of years and months shall not be eligible for election to the
U.S. House of Representatives for the next 6 years or 3 terms. Two years later, the next thirty percent of the
members who exceeded the 12 consecutive years provision by the largest number of years and months at the
time of passage of this amendment, shall not be eligible for election to the U.S. House of Representatives for
the next 6 years or 3 terms. Four years later, the remaining thirty percent of the members who exceeded the
12 consecutive years provision by the largest number of years and months at the time of passage of this
amendment, shall not be eligible for election to the U.S. House of Representatives for the next 6 years or 3
terms. Any members reaching the 12 consecutive years provision after passage of this amendment, and not
less than 8 months prior to a federal general election that occurs in an even number year, shall not be eligible
for election to the U.S. House of Representatives for the next 6 years or 3 terms.

Section III, No person elected to the U.S. Senate shall serve more than 12 consecutive years. A minimum of
6 years must intervene before a person who served 12 consecutive years may serve again. No person shall
serve in the U.S. Senate more than 12 years during any 18 year period.

Section IV, Upon passage of this amendment, and not less than 8 months prior to a federal general election
that includes more than 3 U.S. Senate positions, any current members having exceeded the 12 consecutive
years provision shall be replaced by the following method. The sixty percent of the members exceeding the 12
consecutive years provision by the largest number of years and months shall not be eligible for election to the
U.S. Senate for the next 6 years or 1 term. Two years later, the remaining forty percent of the members who
exceeded the 12 consecutive years provision by the largest number of years and months at the time of
passage of this amendment, shall not be eligible for election to the U.S. Senate for the next 6 years or 1 term.
Any members reaching the 12 consecutive years provision after passage of this amendment, and not less
than 8 months prior to a federal general election that includes more than 3 U.S. Senate positions, shall not be
eligible for election to the U.S. Senate for the next 6 years or 1 term.

Section V, Upon the death, resignation, or impeachment of an elected member of the U.S. House of
Representatives, a person that serves less than 1 year of another U.S. House of Representatives elected term
of office, may immediately serve an additional 12 consecutive years. A person that serves more than 1 year of
another U.S. House of Representatives elected term of office may immediately serve an additional 10
consecutive years.

Section VI, Upon the death, resignation, or impeachment of an elected member of the U.S. Senate, a person
that serves less than 3 years of another U.S. Senators elected term of office, may immediately serve an
additional 2 consecutive terms. A person that serves more than 3 years of another U.S. Senators elected term
of office may immediately serve one additional term.

Section VII, Between Jan. 1 to Sept. 1 of each year that Congress is in session, members of the U.S. House
of Representatives must spend a minimum of 85 weekdays in their district, with four minimum stays of 10
consecutive weekdays each. Between Sept. 1 to Dec. 31 of each year that Congress is in session, members
of the U.S. House of Representatives must spend a minimum of 60 weekdays in their district, with three
minimum stays of 15 consecutive weekdays each.

Section VIII, Between Jan. 1 to Sept. 1 of each year that Congress is in session, members of the U.S.
Senate must spend a minimum of 85 weekdays in their state, with four minimum stays of 10 consecutive
weekdays each. Between Sept. 1 to Dec. 31 of each year that Congress is in session, members of the U.S.
Senate must spend a minimum of 60 weekdays in their state, with three minimum stays of 15 consecutive
weekdays each.

Section IX, No member of Congress shall retain leadership of a full committee, conference committee, sub
committee, or temporary committee for more than 4 consecutive years, nor more than 4 total years within a
12 year period.

Section X, No Speaker of the House, majority or minority leader in the House or Senate shall hold said
position for more than 6 consecutive years, nor more than 6 total years within a 12 year period.

Section XI, No Speaker of the House, majority or minority leader in the House or Senate can continue in his
or her Congressional leadership post while actively pursuing the office of President of the United States. The
threshold of actively pursuing shall be met when accepted on a Presidential primary or Presidential caucus
election ballot.

Time for "limited" term limits

Information, news and opinions about

"our" federal government, and how to

bring about a return to leadership!

Column - An American View (3/23/06)

Archive - An American View

When the U.S. Constitution was debated in 1787 Roger Sherman
of Connecticut, a prime mover behind the Great Compromise
which broke the deadlock between the large and small states over
representation, summed up the feeling of many delegates when he
commented that Congress should be made up of "citizen-
legislators" who through the principle of rotation in office would
"return home and mix with the people. By remaining at the seat of
government, they would acquire the habits of the place, which
might differ from those of their constituents." Congressional term
limits were considered but not included in the final draft of the
Constitution. Most delegates assumed that voluntary term limits
would be the norm. They were correct for over 100 years.

The practice during our nation's first 50 years was for members of the House to serve 4 years and members of the
Senate to serve only one 6 year term. President Lincoln was a firm supporter of rotation in Congress. He once
wrote, "If our American society and United States Government are overthrown, it will come from the voracious
desire for office, this wriggle to live without toil, work and labor-- from which I am not free myself." He could not
imagine the luxuries of office today and the temptations for careerism.

I suggest "limited" term limits for Congress. We should limit to 12 the number of consecutive years that someone
can serve in Congress and also place a limit on how many years can be served in an 18 year period. I want us to
have an opportunity, if presented, to re-elect someone that hasn't served for several years in Congress, thus
having some of our former representatives rehired after being away from Washington and rediscovering the price of
milk and what it's like to stand in lines.

You can read my suggestions in full below for making our representative government more representative of
what we want. We need to make "our" long term public servants short term again.

Seniority in Congress and particularly the House of Representatives increased dramatically after the Civil War.
The establishment of standing committees made seniority important. Between 1860 and 1920, the average
length of service doubled from 4 to 8 years in the House. When the 57th Congress began in 1901, the House
for the first time had fewer than 30% new members. Unfortunately, the numbers get much worse in modern
times. The 97th Congress in 1981 had only 17% new House members and the 101st Congress had only 8%
new House members.

The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 began the entrenching of incumbency with a huge expansion of
congressional staff. Congress justified the expansion as a counter to the growth of the Executive Branch and
to address an increasing congressional workload. The House employed 1,440 personal staff in 1947 and over
7,000 today. In the late 1950's many congressmen had virtually no district staff; by 1992 almost one-third of all
personal staff worked outside of Washington.

Increases in our national debt were primarily attributed to overspending during times of war until 30 years ago.
We overspent by $200 billion during World War II, but the national debt was less than $45 billion prior. The
national debt doubled by 1975 to over $575 billion and another doubling by 1982. It doesn't seem that long ago
that we expressed disgust at the federal debt passing the $1.5 trillion mark during President Reagan's terms.
It went over the $5 trillion mark in 1996. Today...$8.3 trillion! I submit it is not by coincidence that the rate of
turnover in members of Congress, once 30% to 50% each election in the House, has averaged less than 15%
since 1978 and the federal debt has gone from less than $1 trillion to over $8 trillion.

Spending vast amounts of money above what the government had was unthinkable to the founding fathers and
therefore not addressed in our constitution. It was not in their nature. Creating long term social programs that
require huge taxation wasn't in their nature either. We must recognize the nature of "our" modern elected
representatives has changed and it's time that "we the people" add term limits to the constitution that the
founders thought wasn't necessary.

The citizen representative, one who spent more time in his or her district and state, than in Washington D.C.
became such a frowned upon animal that in 1989 Congress banned members of the U.S. House and Senate
from practicing many professions, and severely curtailed their power to earn any outside income.

Senator Robert Byrd of W. Virginia was first elected to the U.S. Senate during the Eisenhower administration
and is up for re-election again this year. Strom Thurmond was elected to 8 consecutive terms to the U.S.
Senate by South Carolina. We are clearly receiving over the last 30 years worse governing by our elected
members of Congress. The growth in the national debt is sufficient proof alone. Isn't a generation of this
enough? Are we ready to take back "our" Congress?

Will Congress go for it? Not a chance! We will need to get it added via Article V of our Constitution that gives state
legislatures the power to call a Constitutional Convention for the purpose of proposing amendments to our
Constitution. We can call it our "V" for victory over careerism and a return to the citizen representative.

An American View column and blog by Bruce Green - conservative & moderate political discourse