U.S. Term Limits, the leader in the non-partisan national movement to limit terms for elected officials, praised candidate and former Republican Attorney General Troy King for signing the pledge for an amendment to term limit Congress. King is a candidate for Alabama’s open 2nd Congressional District.
Previously, both Republican candidates Will Dismukes and Barry Moore also signed the pledge.
Incumbent Congresswoman Martha Roby will leave Congress after just five terms. The primary election is scheduled for March 3, 2020.
U.S. Term Limits has the support of nearly 70 pledge signers in Congress now. USTL President Philip Blumel commented on their pledges saying,
“This strong support of term limits shows that there are individuals who are willing to put self-interest aside to follow the will of the people. America needs a Congress that will be served by citizen legislators, not career politicians.”
The U.S. Term Limits amendment pledge is provided to every announced candidate for federal office.
It reads, “I pledge that as a member of Congress, I will cosponsor and vote for the U.S. Term Limits amendment of three (3) House terms and two (2) Senate terms and no longer limit.”
The U.S. Term Limits constitutional amendment has been introduced in both the U.S. Senate by Senator Ted Cruz (SJR1) and the U.S. House by Representative Francis Rooney (HJR20).
“We have seen a dramatic increase in supporters wanting term limits on Congress,” Blumel said. “More than 82% of Americans have rejected the career politician model and want to replace it with citizen leadership. The way to achieve that goal is through congressional term limits.”
According to a 2018 nationwide poll on term limits conducted by McLaughlin & Associates, term limits enjoy wide bipartisan support.
McLaughlin’s analysis states, “Support for term limits is broad and strong across all political, geographic and demographic groups. An overwhelming 82% of voters approve of a constitutional amendment that will place term limits on members of Congress.”
“America is in trouble. Our career politicians have let the people down,” Blumel added. “It is time to return control of our nation to the people. It is time for a constitutional amendment limiting congressional terms.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has already rejected term limits as unconstitutional so the only way they could be passed is through amending the U.S. Constitution. Passing the term limits amendment resolutions would require a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, and then the amendment would have to be ratified by 38 states. The most difficult part of this is that it would take the support of senior members of Congress, particularly Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) to bring such legislation to the floor and they are in their positions largely because they have been in Congress for decades and thus have moved up through seniority. The last time an amendment was passed was the 1980s.
Congressional term limits is the one bipartisan issue supported by both President Donald J. Trump and former President Barack H. Obama.
The major party primary will be March 3.
