Sen. DeMint Introduces Constitutional Amendment, 3 Term Limit for Reps, 2 Term Limit for Senators

November 10th, 2009

From Sen. DeMint’s Press Release:

Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) introduced an amendment to the United States Constitution that would apply term limits to all members of Congress, limiting U.S. Representatives to three terms and U.S. Senators to two terms in office. The amendment is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), and Sam Brownback (R-Kansas). As an amendment to the Constitution, it would require a two-thirds majority vote approval in the House and Senate and must be ratified by three-fourths of the states.

Check out the text of the amendment:

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled
3 (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the fol
4 lowing article is proposed as an amendment to the Con
5 stitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all
6 intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when
7 ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several
8 States:

1 ‘‘ARTICLE—
2 ‘‘SECTION 1. No person who has served three terms
3 as a Representative shall be eligible for election to the
4 House of Representatives. For purposes of this section,
5 the election of a person to fill a vacancy in the House of

6 Representatives shall be included as one term in deter
7 mining the number of terms that such person has served
8 as a Representative if the person fills the vacancy for more
9 than one year.
10 ‘‘SECTION 2. No person who has served two terms
11 as a Senator shall be eligible for election or appointment
12 to the Senate. For purposes of this section, the election
13 or appointment of a person to fill a vacancy in the Senate
14 shall be included as one term in determining the number
15 of terms that such person has served as a Senator if the
16 person fills the vacancy for more than three years.
17 ‘‘SECTION 3. No term beginning before the date of
18 the ratification of this article shall be taken into account
19 in determining eligibility for election or appointment under
20 this article.’’.

I have always been mixed about term limits, but this is indeed an interesting constitutional amendment.

I wonder how many entrenched Senators and Representatives would be in favor of this. It may be hard to get 2/3, but 3/4 of the States very well may be on board.