Q- How are you planning to do this?
A- We are petitioning in all the states using both hard copies and e-petitions. The petitions will then be formally handed off to the State Legislatures. The State Legislatures will apply for an Article 5 Convention for this Amendment. After passing at the Convention, it will be returned to the States for ratification. All of this does NOT require Congress’s approval.
Q- How do I become involved?
A- Keep spreading the word; sign the petition; join your state group; and volunteer to help. Download a hardcopy of the petition, get your friends and family to sign, then mail it in to the address on the petition. The faster we get the signatures, the sooner we can make this happen. We are setting a goal of 3 to 5 million signatures to pressure the State Legislatures to support the use of the 2nd Option of Article 5.
Q- Who is heading this up?
A- The people leading this movement are average Americans like you. There are no sponsors, political or otherwise.
Q- Will the State Governments support this?
A- Absolutely. First, after Senators became a popular vote,rather than a State assignment, the States lost their voice in Congress as the Senators began representing the parties rather than the states and Congress has been usurping authority from the States ever since. Second, many members of the State legislature would love a chance to end up in Congress, but with incumbents pretty much guaranteed re-election for life, they never have a chance. Third, States want equal representation in Congress. Right now the rules of Congress give authority based on seniority. A state that has a Senator that has been there for 40 years has a lot more power than a state that has a new senator even if the new senator's state has 10 times as many people.
Q- Does how long they are in Congress really make them more corrupt or is that just rhetoric?
A- It’s true. Studies have proven that the longer a person is exposed to temptation, the more likely they are to succumb to it. The amount of temptation in Congress is hard to match anywhere else. Also, people tend to be molded by their environment. In Congress, they are treated as elites by entire industries and lobbyists. Overtime they can’t help but develop a disconnect from the average American and a feeling that they know what’s best, regardless of what the people want.
Q- Why Term Limits? Isn’t voting all we need?
A- The voting system is broken and hasn’t worked for a longtime. Exit polls have shown that people vote based on name recognition, party lines, and media exposure. An incumbent gets all three. They have a 90% chance of being re-elected no matter what they do in office. With the parties so polarized, a person will vote for a terrible person before voting for what they see as the 'evil' other party. In addition, once lobbyists get their hooks dug into a member of Congress, they make sure he/she has at least 10 times more money for his/her campaign than anyone who challenges him/her.
Q- Won’t Term Limits just cause more politicians to receive full pay for life?
A- That is a myth that has grown through the years. They have a contributory retirement plan like all federal employees are offered. The myth probably developed because most stay in Congress for so many years that by the time they retire they are past the retirement age, so it seems that they’re getting retirement for life. With term limits, they won’t have more than 12 years to contribute to their retirement and many will not be old enough to draw on their retirement once they are out.
Q- Congress was intended to be a service, why should we pay salaries and benefits?
A- If there were no salaries or benefits, the average American like you and I couldn’t afford to spend up to 12 years in Congress. The only people in Congress would be the wealthy.
Q- Shouldn’t we fear an Article 5 Convention? I’ve heard it called a Con Con and that they could destroy all of our rights and the Constitution.
A- There will always be those who scream “The sky is falling!” Some do it because they know no better and others do it because they don’t want Americans to recognize that there is a way to rein in Congress. The ones that legitimately fear the convention process equate it to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, however it is a completely different situation. The founders wrote Article 5 specifically to ONLY allow Amendments to be presented at the Convention. Additionally any Amendment passed at the Convention then has to be returned to the States and ratified by at least 38 States, which is the exact same safety net used should Congress pass an Amendment. There are not 38 Republican-controlled states or 38 Democrat-controlled states. Nothing leaning left or right has any chance at all of being passed by 38 states. The only thing that will be passed is something completely non-partisan like Term Limits.
Q- Why don’t we go with a shorter limit? Why are you proposing 12 years?
A- A great deal of research and thought went into deciding on 12 years. You have to consider the requirements in Article 1 of the Constitution; why the lengths of individual terms are their current lengths; what the State Governments will be willing to support; and the balance in which we have experience, but not an opportunity for a career. 12 years is equal to two 6-year Senate terms as currently defined in Article 1. It allows experience, but not a career. Our suggestion is that NO ONE should be in Congress longer than two Senate Terms (12 years). And, since we feel it's important that neither the House or the Senate should have more experience than the other, we suggest a 12 Year Max in Congress limit. A person can be in the House for 12 years OR in the Senate for 12 years OR 6 in the House and 6 in the Senate, BUT no one stays in Congress(House & Senate) over 12 years total.
Keep in mind, while we're suggesting 12 years, the actual Amendment will be hammered out at the Article 5 Convention. 12 Years is what we plan to argue at the convention as the best option.
Q- While we are at it, why don’t we include some other changes that need to be made?
A- The key to success is simplicity. The more details we add, the less likely we will succeed. You can never make everyone happy. For every detail added, there will be some that disagree. Right now we need to focus on this one thing that crosses all the party lines.
Q- Won’t term limits make lobbyists more powerful and influential?
A- No. Lobbyists hate term limits. It takes years and millions to buy a member of Congress. It’s worth it if they know the person will be there for another 20 or 30 years, but with term limits, it’s not nearly as effective.
Q- Why just a single Amendment? If we’re going to have a convention, why not more?
A- You have to consider both the legal and strategic perspective. A single amendment greatly increases our ability to force a convention to be called and overcome hurdles that can otherwise be thrown in our way by the many attorneys in Congress that don’t want to see this happen.
Q- Why don’t we join with the Convention of States Project? Isn’t one of their issues Term Limits?
A- We are currently working to coordinate the efforts of ALL the major players on the board for Term Limits and are creating an Advisory Board to oversee the coalition.
A- We are petitioning in all the states using both hard copies and e-petitions. The petitions will then be formally handed off to the State Legislatures. The State Legislatures will apply for an Article 5 Convention for this Amendment. After passing at the Convention, it will be returned to the States for ratification. All of this does NOT require Congress’s approval.
Q- How do I become involved?
A- Keep spreading the word; sign the petition; join your state group; and volunteer to help. Download a hardcopy of the petition, get your friends and family to sign, then mail it in to the address on the petition. The faster we get the signatures, the sooner we can make this happen. We are setting a goal of 3 to 5 million signatures to pressure the State Legislatures to support the use of the 2nd Option of Article 5.
Q- Who is heading this up?
A- The people leading this movement are average Americans like you. There are no sponsors, political or otherwise.
Q- Will the State Governments support this?
A- Absolutely. First, after Senators became a popular vote,rather than a State assignment, the States lost their voice in Congress as the Senators began representing the parties rather than the states and Congress has been usurping authority from the States ever since. Second, many members of the State legislature would love a chance to end up in Congress, but with incumbents pretty much guaranteed re-election for life, they never have a chance. Third, States want equal representation in Congress. Right now the rules of Congress give authority based on seniority. A state that has a Senator that has been there for 40 years has a lot more power than a state that has a new senator even if the new senator's state has 10 times as many people.
Q- Does how long they are in Congress really make them more corrupt or is that just rhetoric?
A- It’s true. Studies have proven that the longer a person is exposed to temptation, the more likely they are to succumb to it. The amount of temptation in Congress is hard to match anywhere else. Also, people tend to be molded by their environment. In Congress, they are treated as elites by entire industries and lobbyists. Overtime they can’t help but develop a disconnect from the average American and a feeling that they know what’s best, regardless of what the people want.
Q- Why Term Limits? Isn’t voting all we need?
A- The voting system is broken and hasn’t worked for a longtime. Exit polls have shown that people vote based on name recognition, party lines, and media exposure. An incumbent gets all three. They have a 90% chance of being re-elected no matter what they do in office. With the parties so polarized, a person will vote for a terrible person before voting for what they see as the 'evil' other party. In addition, once lobbyists get their hooks dug into a member of Congress, they make sure he/she has at least 10 times more money for his/her campaign than anyone who challenges him/her.
Q- Won’t Term Limits just cause more politicians to receive full pay for life?
A- That is a myth that has grown through the years. They have a contributory retirement plan like all federal employees are offered. The myth probably developed because most stay in Congress for so many years that by the time they retire they are past the retirement age, so it seems that they’re getting retirement for life. With term limits, they won’t have more than 12 years to contribute to their retirement and many will not be old enough to draw on their retirement once they are out.
Q- Congress was intended to be a service, why should we pay salaries and benefits?
A- If there were no salaries or benefits, the average American like you and I couldn’t afford to spend up to 12 years in Congress. The only people in Congress would be the wealthy.
Q- Shouldn’t we fear an Article 5 Convention? I’ve heard it called a Con Con and that they could destroy all of our rights and the Constitution.
A- There will always be those who scream “The sky is falling!” Some do it because they know no better and others do it because they don’t want Americans to recognize that there is a way to rein in Congress. The ones that legitimately fear the convention process equate it to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, however it is a completely different situation. The founders wrote Article 5 specifically to ONLY allow Amendments to be presented at the Convention. Additionally any Amendment passed at the Convention then has to be returned to the States and ratified by at least 38 States, which is the exact same safety net used should Congress pass an Amendment. There are not 38 Republican-controlled states or 38 Democrat-controlled states. Nothing leaning left or right has any chance at all of being passed by 38 states. The only thing that will be passed is something completely non-partisan like Term Limits.
Q- Why don’t we go with a shorter limit? Why are you proposing 12 years?
A- A great deal of research and thought went into deciding on 12 years. You have to consider the requirements in Article 1 of the Constitution; why the lengths of individual terms are their current lengths; what the State Governments will be willing to support; and the balance in which we have experience, but not an opportunity for a career. 12 years is equal to two 6-year Senate terms as currently defined in Article 1. It allows experience, but not a career. Our suggestion is that NO ONE should be in Congress longer than two Senate Terms (12 years). And, since we feel it's important that neither the House or the Senate should have more experience than the other, we suggest a 12 Year Max in Congress limit. A person can be in the House for 12 years OR in the Senate for 12 years OR 6 in the House and 6 in the Senate, BUT no one stays in Congress(House & Senate) over 12 years total.
Keep in mind, while we're suggesting 12 years, the actual Amendment will be hammered out at the Article 5 Convention. 12 Years is what we plan to argue at the convention as the best option.
Q- While we are at it, why don’t we include some other changes that need to be made?
A- The key to success is simplicity. The more details we add, the less likely we will succeed. You can never make everyone happy. For every detail added, there will be some that disagree. Right now we need to focus on this one thing that crosses all the party lines.
Q- Won’t term limits make lobbyists more powerful and influential?
A- No. Lobbyists hate term limits. It takes years and millions to buy a member of Congress. It’s worth it if they know the person will be there for another 20 or 30 years, but with term limits, it’s not nearly as effective.
Q- Why just a single Amendment? If we’re going to have a convention, why not more?
A- You have to consider both the legal and strategic perspective. A single amendment greatly increases our ability to force a convention to be called and overcome hurdles that can otherwise be thrown in our way by the many attorneys in Congress that don’t want to see this happen.
Q- Why don’t we join with the Convention of States Project? Isn’t one of their issues Term Limits?
A- We are currently working to coordinate the efforts of ALL the major players on the board for Term Limits and are creating an Advisory Board to oversee the coalition.
Term Limits for US Congress FAQs
Click here for the videos answering many of the questions below.