Congressional Term Limits Act

Liberty
1

Congressional Term Limits Act

Purpose

To establish term limits for members of the United States Congress while ensuring a smooth transition through grandfathering provisions for current officeholders.

Section 1: Definitions

1.1. “Term” shall mean:

  • For Senators: One full six-year term of office
  • For Representatives: One full two-year term of office

1.2. “Incumbent” shall mean any member of Congress holding office at the time this policy takes effect.

Section 2: Term Limitations

2.1. No person shall serve more than two complete terms as a Senator or as a Representative in Congress, except as provided in Section 3 of this Act.

2.2. Terms served need not be consecutive to count toward the limitation.

2.3. Any term during which a person succeeds to the office or temporarily fills a vacancy for more than half of the term shall be counted as a full term.

Section 3: Grandfather Provision

3.1. All incumbent members of Congress at the time this policy takes effect shall be exempt from the term limits established in Section 2.

3.2. The exemption shall apply only to continuous service by incumbents. Once an incumbent leaves office through retirement, resignation, or electoral defeat, any subsequent service shall be subject to the term limits established in Section 2.

Section 4: Implementation

4.1. This policy shall take effect immediately upon passage.

4.2. Term counting for non-incumbent members and future members shall begin with the first term served after the effective date of this policy.

Section 5: Enforcement

5.1. The Federal Election Commission shall be responsible for:

  • Maintaining records of congressional service
  • Determining term limit eligibility
  • Preventing ineligible candidates from appearing on ballots

5.2. State election officials shall be required to verify term limit eligibility with the Federal Election Commission before placing any candidate on a ballot for congressional office.

Section 6: Constitutional Considerations

6.1. This Act shall apply uniformly to all states and territories of the United States.

6.2. Nothing in this Act shall prevent voters from casting write-in votes for any person, though persons who have reached their term limits shall be ineligible to serve if elected.

Section 7: Severability

7.1. If any provision of this Act is held to be unconstitutional or invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

7.2. The provisions of this Act are declared to be severable.

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There should be a limit of years and age !!!

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Agreed!

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There should not be a grandfather clause. That will enable the politicians who have been serving more than two terms already to continue getting elected. If they have already served two terms then they are no longer eligible to run for that office when their current term ends.

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I agree wholeheartedly but I feel like that is the only way Trump will be able to get it passed. They would be more likely to pass if current members of Congress were exempted (grandfathered in), since they wouldn’t be voting to end their own careers immediately. They would be more willing to support limits that only affect future members of Congress.

While not ideal, this approach follows the same pragmatic logic that helped pass the 22nd Amendment limiting presidential terms - it didn’t apply to the sitting president at the time (Truman).

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The limits in the House should also be 12 years

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Great point and very well thought out post. Wholeheartedly agree on this.

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