"The time for congressional term limits has finally arrived. Not only will it end our government corruption, but we will end the economic stagnation that we're in right now. No growth," President Trump said Tuesday during a speech in Colorado, according to the Washington Post (Johnson). Whether or not Congress should have term limits has been a long debated question that is proposed as an amendment to the qualifications clause of the Constitution. Many American citizens have approved term limits for Congressmen, moreover many states and hundreds of cities and counties across the United States have adopted term limits for congress. In order for term limits to become constitutional, an amendment to U.S. constitution would require approval from …show more content…
Term limits are not necessary because members of Congress must be regularly re-elected. If they are not doing a good job in office, we can simply vote for someone else. Thus, giving more power to bureaucrats and lobbyists, as turnover would not allow stability in congress. The problem is not how long the politicians stays in the office rather the real problem is the power and unconstitutional overreach of the federal government. Yet studies have found that in California, which became one of the first states to set term limits on their legislative body in 1990, term limits have done nothing to rid the state of career politicians (Singer). In fact, all members of Congress have term limits. Voters get to determine every two years in the House and six years in the Senate whether a member is still serving their interests. Term limits cannot guarantee either individual liberty or good government if voters with bad ideas replace bad legislators with other bad …show more content…
In addition, they can be harmful to smaller states because they have smaller representation in the congress as it would not allow them to build up power through seniority. Similarly, experience comes only by the means of practice, the longer they served the more experience they are likely to gain and serve better. It might bring un-elected individual in the office, if term limits are applied and a senior member expires, then important decisions would have to be made by people who had not been elected and experienced member will be replaced by lobbyists. Term limits will not accomplish the reform that is needed in our federal government, because term limits will not restrain the power of our federal government. The distribution of power between our local and federal government seems main cause of call for term limits. It is true that changes have to be made in the way campaign funds are distributed and in other areas. Thus, positive results do not have to be always accomplished by repelling old lawmaking
It is not uncommon to find members of Congress who have genuine goals of spearheading, designing or even just supporting good public policy. It would be harsh to say that every member of Congress is against good policy. However what is difficult for members of Congress is deciding what is more important, the wishes of their constituents or national policy. Although it is rare, members of Congress vote against the popular opinion of his or her district in order to make what would be considered good policy in the national interest. This hinders their chance of re-election but is necessary for America. In very rare cases members of Congress have gone against the wishes of their constituents for moral reasons like in the aftermath of 9/11. When voting on the 2002 Iraq War Resolution, I am certain that the last thing of the minds of members of Congress was re-election. A very conservative House of Representatives member Jimmy Duncan said ‘‘when I pushed that button to vote against the war back in 2002, I thought I might be ending my political career.” In times of crisis members of Congress have decide between what is right, not what their constituents believe is right. Another goal other than re-election that members of Congress have is their own future. For many, being a members of The House of Representatives is a mere stepping stone in their career on the way to better things. Therefore for some members of Congress, re-election does not worry them and gives them the freedom to act in an environment striped of the constant pressure of re-election. However, considering that most of the members of The House Of Representatives goals lie within the Senate or high executive positions, re-election is still on their mind, all be it in the form of a different
Government exists to serve the people, and not the politicians, American citizens know this. Polls show that Americans want term limitation by margins as high as three-to-one, even four-to-one. Congressional term limitation is the most important issue of our time because the future direction of our country depends upon it. There is no other way to restore government to, us, the people. There is no substitute for term limits. There are many second steps, depending upon where you sit, but there is only one first step toward turning the country around. It is con...
The 22nd Amendment creates a lame duck and which stops abuse of power3. Presidents in their second term have been seen to usually suffer diminished power, particularly after the second midterm elections. This diminish of power creates a lame duck. The president becoming a lame duck, stops him from being able abuse of power. The 22nd Amendment also stops the country from being a monarchy. US. Senators and Congressmen don’t have term limits because their voices are balanced by opposing parties in their chambers, the presidency is different. The president has no similar
...o keep their jobs, Congress members must please the majority of a state and in the nation. Citizens are the people who help campaign and vote to re-elect you or have someone take your job. Members when voting must remember that and consider voting in favor of what the majority in their state wants even if he or she disagrees. If they do not listen to state residents who are the voters, this can lead to someone sitting down in their former seat.
Term limits could increase the quality of the Supreme Court nominees. One of the driving factors behind a Supreme Court nominee is their age (Ringhand np). Individuals over 60 years of age are less likely to be appointed. This means presidents intentionally exclude a large number of highly qualified individuals from serving on our nation’s highest court (Ringhand np). Term limits resolve this problem. Furthermore, the threat of a justice’s cognitive decline may be reduced, since there would no longer be a temptation to hold out for a strategically timed retirement.
The 22nd amendment was passed by Congress in 1947 and ratified by the states by 1951. In which this document or amendment limited the terms of the president to two four year terms. It helps limit the power the president can receive and prevent them from getting “king like powers” it from turning into a monarchy.
The president is a very significant role in not only the U.S., but all around the world. As a matter of fact, the president has a great impact on our country in many ways as well, including relationships and trade. In order for us to have good relationships and trades with the country below us, we would need a strong president. If the presidential term limit was extended, there would be more strong presidents, less weak presidents, the ability to follow through with plans/changes, and less adjusting. This would impact the U.S. and Canada, and other countries all around the world in a positive way. Our society is falling to hatred, bad decisions, and a lack of unity and strength, which could all be reduced or prevented by a strong, beneficial
When the United States was founded, the theme behind the new government was to establish an efficient system without doling out too much power to any one person. The Founders intended to prevent a rebirth of tyranny, which they had just escaped by breaking away from England. However, when members of Congress such as Tom Foley, who served as a Representative from 1964 through 1995, and Jack Brooks, who served as a Representative from 1952 through 1994, remain in the legislative system for over forty years, it is evident that tyranny has not necessarily been eradicated from the United States (Vance, 1994, p. 429). Term limits are a necessity to uphold the Founders’ intentions, to prevent unfair advantages given to incumbents, and to allow a multitude of additional benefits.
Congressional terms have no limits. Controversy exists between those who think the terms should be limited and those who believe that terms should remain unlimited. The group that wants to limit the terms argues that the change will promote fresh ideas and reduce the possibility of decisions being made for self-interest. Those who oppose term limits believe that we would sacrifice both the stability and experience held by veteran politicians. They also point out that our election process allows the voter to limit terms, at their discretion. While experience and stability are important considerations, congressional terms should be limited to a maximum of two.
Congress has helped develop the Presidency as we know it today. This is because Congress argues over proposals and legislation proposed by the President. They are a major determent in whether bills turn into laws. But it’s not easy. One reason for this is because there are many powerful groups out there who argue about what should be discussed such as air pollution with the EPA or jobs.
Every ten years after a census, politicians redraw the district boundaries that determine the house and state legislature. The problem with this system is that the same politicians who redraw the district boundaries are the ones who are being elected by the
Yes, I think Congress has too much power. Because under the constitution, Congress has the most important power and that is to make/change laws. (The powers of Congress-http://www.ushistory.org/gov/6a.asp) In this paper I will explain to you how Congress has too much power by, it being split into two large bicameral legislatures, they have the power of impeachment, and they have the power to approve the spending of federal money.
The United States is the oldest yet also the shortest in the world (National Constitution Center). Despite the fact that we’ve had the same Constitution for over 200 years, many Americans still are not very familiar with its contents. In a study in 2011, 70% of Americans couldn’t answer the question “What is the supreme law of the land?” and only 38% could name all three branches of the U.S. government (Hentoff). Completely rewriting the Constitution every 19 years would only worsen this existing problem. If most Americans are that illiterate about the Constitution in its current form than it would be really difficult for them to be literate about it if it were rewritten regularly. As soon as people began to be familiar with its contents, the entire system of government would
When many people hear the words the Senate and the House of Representative they might think of Congress. They do not truly go into depth of what those two departments mean, and they do not understand how vital they are to our own government. Congress is part of the Legislative Branch and is a bicameral legislature. Which means that is a legislature that is separated into two houses, and in that case is the House of Representatives and the Senate. Many know the words "The Senate" and "The House of Representatives" but they do not truly know what those words entail, many do not know the contrast and comparisons of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
“The Budget and Economic Outlook : Fiscal Years 2010 to 2020.” Congress of the United States