Washington, D.C. – Representative Reid Ribble (WI-08) today introduced a Constitutional Amendment (H.J. Res. 101) that would limit the number of years a member of Congress can serve. If the amendment is adopted, it would limit House members to three terms of four years and Senators to two terms of six years, equaling 12 years for both chambers. The amendment would apply to only those individuals first elected to office following its adoption into law and would therefore not affect any current member of Congress.

“After serving for a year in Congress, I can report that Washington is systemically broken,” said Ribble. “Complacency has become a problem in our nation’s capital and there appears to be no sense of urgency to work toward solutions for the critical issues facing our country. Instead of addressing important issues head-on, such as the reforming the 10,000 page tax code or tackling our nation’s $15 trillion debt, it seems that there is a procrastinator mindset to delay important decisions until after the next election. Instituting term limits would end careerism in Congress by making members prioritize what is most important to their constituents and work toward those objectives within a definitive time frame.

“I term-limited myself to eight years because I wanted to make sure that when I got to Washington I used my time as effectively and efficiently as possible. I set priorities of what I wanted to accomplish for northeast Wisconsin, and I have spent every day working to restore certainty to our economy, defend hardworking taxpayers and get the American people back to work.

“The last year has underscored Congress’ inability to work together and pass vital pieces of legislation. Term limits would change the culture of Congress by reminding members who they work for and why they were elected. Representatives need to focus on securing the future of our children and grandchildren instead of a seat in Congress after the next election, and this legislation will help in that effort.”

Highlights of H.J. Res 101

• Senators would serve 2 terms of 6 years
• House members would serve 3 terms of 4 years
• A House term would increase from 2 years to 4 years to allow members more time to focus on governing instead of campaigning for an election every other year. History has shown that the meaningful legislation is less likely to be passed during an election year.

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