Washington, D.C. – U.S. Term Limits (USTL), the leader of the citizen movement to term limit elected officials, today called for swift action from Congress on a constitutional amendment to limit members’ terms.
“The corruption cauldron of Washington, D.C. is boiling over, and it’s harming our country more every day,” said U.S. Term Limits President Philip Blumel. “Congress must propose a term limits amendment immediately to restore confidence in this broken institution.”
The statement comes in the wake of a federal indictment against Rep. Corrine Brown, a 12-term Florida congresswoman who stands accused of using a phony education charity as her own slush fund. She is charged with mail fraud, wire fraud, concealing facts on financial disclosure forms, theft of government property, obstruction and filing false tax returns.
Term limits are needed to curb the hubris and opportunity that lead to this corruption, U.S. Term Limits says.
“Lifetime tenure has a paralyzing effect on Congress, by producing members who are addicted to the power and prestige of office,” Blumel said. “Term limits will stop the empire-building in D.C. and require members to live under the laws they make.”
According to the last nationwide poll on term limits conducted by Gallup, the issue enjoys wide bipartisan support. The poll showed that 75% of Americans support congressional term limits, including supermajorities of both parties.
The term limits amendment bills have already been filed in the House by Rep. Matt Salmon of Arizona and in the Senate by Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana. They require two-thirds support from both chambers and ratification by three-quarters of states to become part of the Constitution.
