Sen. Cruz and Rep. DeSantis Introduce Constitutional Amendment To Impose Term Limits On Members of Congress
Amendment would limit senators to two terms, representatives to three terms
Today @RepDeSantis and I introduced a Constitutional amendment to impose #TermLimits on members of Congress. https://t.co/jVXIbq35iu pic.twitter.com/GBjSV64x6x
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) January 3, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) today proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to impose term limits on members of Congress. The amendment would limit U.S. senators to two six-year terms and members of the U.S. House of Representatives to three two-year terms.
“D.C. is broken,” said Sen. Cruz. “The American people resoundingly agreed on Election Day, and President-elect Donald Trump has committed to putting government back to work for the American people. It is well past time to put an end to the cronyism and deceit that has transformed Washington into a graveyard of good intentions.”
Cruz continued: “The time is now for Congress, with the overwhelming support of the American people, to submit this constitutional amendment to the states for speedy ratification. With control of a decisive majority of the states, the House of Representatives, and the Senate, we have a responsibility to answer the voters’ call-to-action. We must deliver.”
“Term limits are the first step towards reforming Capitol Hill,” said Rep. DeSantis. “Eliminating the political elite and infusing Washington with new blood will restore the citizen legislature that our Founding Fathers envisioned. The American people have called for increased accountability and we must deliver. Senator Cruz has been instrumental in efforts to hold Congress accountable, and I look forward to working with him to implement term limits.”
“President Trump, Speaker Ryan and huge majorities of the American people are demanding term limits,” said U.S. Term Limits President Philip Blumel. “Congress must listen and pass the Cruz-DeSantis amendment immediately.
The enduring concept of a citizen legislature, of limiting unruly influence and abuse of power, and of promoting integrity and unclouded judgment in Washington through congressional term limits is a priority strongly supported by the American people. According to an October Rasmussen survey, 74 percent of Americans support establishing term limits for all members of Congress, while only 13 percent oppose term limits.
In December, Sen. Cruz and Rep. DeSantis published an op-ed in the Washington Post announcing their intention to introduce a term limits amendment in the 115th Congress.
The amendment was cosponsored in the Senate by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and David Perdue (R-Ga.)
Complete text of the proposed amendment can be viewed here.
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