Essay On Congressional Term Limits

Many people believe in term limits. “In the 1900’s, public opinion polls showed that 70 to 80 percent of the American public supported the idea of term limits for Congress” (Feinberg, 1996). Term limits in Congress can be argued that the politicians who have been in office for decades could have be out of new ideas or have become comfortable in their position. It seems only fair that if others involved in politics, such as the president, can only serve for a number of terms than Congress should be faced with the same. “Term limits encourage politicians to work quickly and efficiently to pass good legislation that immediately benefits the electorate, and to prevent the partisan bickering and infighting that often gums up legislatures” (Issues

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…” The opening statement of the supreme law of our nation makes the goals of our government clear, and yet we seem to have lost sight of these goals. It is my belief that in order to ensure the goals of the constitution that the 28th amendment of The Constitution must be an amendment instituting term limits on all members of The Senate and The House. Since around the last four congresses we have seen record numbers of house and senate tenures; peaking at a 13 year average for members of the senate. Now of course we may not be having this problem if congressional approval ratings were not at an

The political theorists David R. Mayhew, Gary W. Cox, and Matthew D. McCubbins argue on how the US Congress functions. They focus on the members of Congress and their actions. The basis of disagreement between the theorists lies in what Congress members find of importance. Mayhew argues that members of Congress, primarily concern themselves with reelection, as such, any action taken only benefits that. Cox and McCubbins’, however, formulate that Congress functions on the basis of majority party control and unity.

In consecutive term limits, a legislator is limited to serving a particular number of years in a chamber. After meeting the limit in that chamber, he or she may run for election to a different chamber or

In 1990, term limits were about eight years in the Senate and six years in the Assembly. However, in 2010, it went up to twelve years no matter where they are. There was a higher term expectancy, lower switching, and more institutional memory. Term limits allowed for more diversity by representatives and more new ideas to try out coalitions. The problem with short term limits is that there was a loss of “institutional memory” where there is a well-crafted policy and “splashy” policy, to look good in the process.

The article is written by Richard Fenno in 1978, summarizing the dilemma of congressmen in the contemporary time. The author was specifically discussing about members of the House, who always seek for reelection during his legislative career, as stated in the initial part of the paper. Fenno went on to propose the conflict in incumbent congressmen 's career: more attention for the Washington career leads to less attention for the congressmen 's home state. The Washington career required commitment to build up support within the House. However, focusing on Washington rendered the congressman homeless, or losing his home 's supportive forces.

Term limits are the limits on a term an elected official can serve. Some officials, like the president, have two terms but some, like senators, don 't have any term limits. A pro of having term limits is allowing new people to be in congress. New people bring new ideas and it prevents old officials from making a career out of what they are doing. Being in congress is not suppose to be a career; its suppose to be more like a temporary job.

In the aftermath of the first real wave of retiring legislators, supporters and opponents have debated on the benefits and detriments of term limits and neither side could come to a conclusion. In Maine where term limit restrictions resulted in a legislature comprised of 40% first term members resulted in the state’s budget being passed in march, the earliest in the state’s history. Supporters saw this as an example that members were working harder and were being more effective, while detractors saw the early budget as inexperienced legislators were passing proposals with inadequate understanding and scrutiny. Supporters emphasize the annual turnover increase in both chambers since the adoption of Proposition 140, as well as the significant increase in the number of members retiring voluntarily before they were 'termed-out '. Supporters are also quick to point out the increase in minority and women legislators increased as had been predicted.

The difference in ideological views and decision making within congress creates a separation of agreement among the legislative decisions as whole and prevents logical and neutral policy making ( Wilson pg 12). The polarity in congress prevents neutralism and supports individualism due to the strongly motivated ideologies from each member instead of a unified unit that functions singularly An important hierarchy and responsibility of the legislative branch determines the order and ability for policies and laws to be stable and without bias. Individualism clouds the overall objective of creating stability in the United States. “Congress has, to a decree,been deinstitutionalized and individualized: its leadership has become weaker,power within it has been dispersed” (Wilson pg 13).

Legislative redistricting in nature is a simple concept. However, the implication of legislative redistricting arises complications. Redistricting is a powerful tool used by our government. It influences how a state will be represented and in turn how the people will be represented. The misuse of this power can lead to catastrophic consequences. Redistricting in itself is not a political question, but because of its implication and threat to the right to vote, it becomes one.

The term for a senator is six years. The senate belongs to the legislative branch and they write and vote on new laws. The second chamber is the House of Representatives (also known as the lower chamber). The House contains four hundred thirty-five representatives. Each of them represents an area of a state, also known as a district.

Congressional Gridlock Congressional Gridlock is a recurring issue in America’s political system, and it is crippling the efficacy of the governments ability to lead the country to overall prosperity. Gridlock, in terms of politics, refers to the inability for the political system to adequately satisfy the needs of the citizens in that country. In reference to Congress, a gridlock is when the people cannot be satisfied due to disagreements in legislation that hinder the process of making laws. One recent consequence of congressional gridlock is the congressional stand still concerning gun violence in our nation and the oppositions on what affect, if any, it has on gun laws. Another example of a congressional gridlock is the lengthy wait for

Under Mayhew’s criterion for a successful political career, it is easy to argue that Representative Long has fulfilled the criterion and has led a successful career. Constituents directly influence many of the political actions members of Congress make because they are the ones who possess the power of the vote, not the representative himself. As observed his television advertisement was a tool utilized by Long to reach a larger audience and for voters to be able to associate a face with the name, “Billy Long.” By enacting and sponsoring certain pieces of legislation, Representative Long was successful in claiming credit and taking a strong position to rally support around his campaign and platform. All of these moves attributed to the multiple reelections of Representative Long.

Dating back to its inception Congress “has never been a place for paupers (Lightblau, 5).” With each change in the country, the United States Congress rarely deviated away from its long-standing tradition of having wealthy, white men heavily represented in both chambers. Individuals who were elected ranged from “plantation owners, industrialists, ex- Wall Street financiers and Internet executives (Lightblau, 5).” Research conducted shows that “the typical member of Congress is worth more than nine times the typical voter that puts them in Washington (Thompson, 2).”

The Texas House of Representatives organization is one in which one hundred and fifty members compose it. Each of these members is to be elected for a two-year term. As well, each member in this position has to be a natural U.S. Citizen of the United States and must be at least 21 years of age or older. Prior to entering an election he/ she must have two complete years of been a resident of the state and one year of been a resident of the district from which they were chosen to form part. The Texas House of Representative is in charge of electing the speaker of the house, which is also known as the presiding officer. This house organization basically stands to construct and enforce its own rules, as it also judges the right qualifications