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TERM LIMITS FOR CONGRESS - LET'S RESTART THE DISCUSSION
By Linda Milazzo (about the author) Page 1 of 2 page(s)
For OpEdNews: Linda Milazzo - Writer
On my TV appeared the usual suspects - current Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-VT), former Committee Chair and current ranking member Arlen Specter (R-PA), and former two time Committee Chair Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Their faces were all too familiar, and their seats were all too owned.
Between Leahy, who took office in 1974, Hatch, who took office in 1976, and Specter, who took office in 1980, and who's served on the Judiciary Committee since day one, I was staring at a cumulative 91 years on the job.
Damn that's a lot of years! - 33 for Leahy, 31 for Hatch, and 27 for Specter.
Observing the behaviors of Hatch and Specter - Specter to be sure - their veneers of self-importance were customarily there.
But Leahy, I must disclose, is a great favorite of mine. I developed a deep affection toward him for the way he supported young American human rights activist Marla Ruzicka's independent work in Afghanistan and Iraq. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marla_Ruzicka
When Marla was killed in Iraq on April 16, 2005 at just 29 years of age, Leahy was deeply affected. He delivered an impassioned speech in her honor on the Senate floor - as did Senator Boxer. Needless to say, I'm a huge fan of the good Senator Leahy. (Scroll down for Leahy's and others' tributes to Marla - double click on the videos to view them on youtube): http://www.uykucu.org/searchpage/marla-ruzicka/1.aspx
Being a fan of Senators Leahy, Boxer, Kennedy, Feingold and Dodd, and Representatives Kucinich, Woolsey, Waters and Barbara Lee, I understand that considering term limits for the Senate and House would limit the years of service for great public servants like these, just as it would for those of lesser distinction. In fact, should the maximum twelve years in office that I'm proposing be retroactive, only Barbara Lee would remain, since the others have served more than twelve years.
But they are patriots! And what I've come to understand about patriots from the legions of non-electeds who work tirelessly for causes every day, is that they needn't hold elected office to successfully serve their nation. In fact, the hardest workers for America and for the planet that I know don't hold public office at all, and frequently work for free. It's their love of nation, the Constitution, and humanity that drives them. Not personal wealth, power and prestige.
Yet it would surely be nice to see some non-elected patriots, who have volunteered countless hours on behalf of their nation, who've studied the machinations of the political system, and mastered the laws set forth by the Constitution, be elected to replace those who term out. In exchange, those who term out would have the same opportunity to serve their nation and their planet outside of office, with the advantage of greater leverage.
Paid lobbying is NOT an option!
Odd to think I would take up the same cause that Newt Gingrich launched twelve years ago. But with an ineffectual Legislative Branch, led by ineffectual leaders on both sides of the aisle, there seems to be no other way to clean House(s). Yes, there is THE VOTE. But due to ear-mark awards and familiarity with incumbents, constituents usually favor their prior-electeds and are reluctant to vote them out. Some even view it as a breach of loyalty. Others just don't know any better. The more astute constituents who scrutinize electeds' voting records, and monitor their donors, aren't quite as willing to keep voting them in.
In 1995, in keeping with his Contract With America, then Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich brought forth a House vote for a Constitutional Amendment (H.J. Res 73 - 104th Congress) that would restrict members of the U.S. Congress to a maximum of twelve years in office. http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/text/hjr73.txt
The Amendment lost by a 227 - 204 vote (189 Republicans and 38 Democrats voted for the Amendment, while 40 Republicans, 163 Democrats and 1 Independent voted against it). A two-thirds majority is required to pass a Constitutional Amendment. Here are the recorded results, by member, of the votes for H.J. Res 73 of the 104th Congress: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1995/roll277.xml
As of now, there are at least 25 members of the Senate and House who have served 30 or more years in office - which is NOT what the Founders divined.
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