Supporters of congressional term limits often ask, “how can we get Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to term limit Congress, if they control the amending process?”
The solution lies with the Article V Convention of the US Constitution, which would allow, and impose, term limits on officials and members of Congress without congressional approval. Article V is a process in which two-thirds (currently 34) of state legislatures can call a convention to alter the Constitution and rein in abuses of power from members of the House and Senate.
Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution
Section 1.
No person shall be elected to the office of the Senate more than twice, and no person who has held the office of Senator, or acted as Senator, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected to the Senate shall be elected to the office of Senate more than once. If a sitting Senator is currently in his second term or beyond his second term, he shall not serve any further terms.
Section 2.
Term length for the House of Representatives shall henceforth be four years. No person shall be elected to the office of the House of Representatives more than two times, and no person who has held the office of the House of Representatives, or acted as Member of the House of Representatives, for more than one year of a term to which some other person was elected to the House of Representatives shall be elected to the office of House of Representatives more than once.
Section 3.
But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office of Congress (whether Senate or House of Representatives) when this article was proposed by the Congress or the States, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of Congress (whether Senate or House of Representatives), or acting as a member of Congress (whether Senate or House of Representatives), during the term within which this article becomes operative from holding the office of Congress or acting as Congressman or Congresswoman during the remainder of such term.
Section 4.
No term limit imposed on a member of the Senate shall preclude that person from running for the House of Representatives, or vice-versa, except that the longest any person shall serve as a member of Congress shall be twelve years (combining both houses of Congress).
Section 5.
Except to the extent a pension or employment benefit has vested, no member of Congress shall receive any form of compensation, pension or benefits upon leaving office by virtue of his or her prior membership in Congress.
Section 6.
Members of Congress shall receive an annual pay raise of the lower of CPI or three percent (3%), and no more.
Section 7.
For a period of seven (7) years following conclusion of his or her term as a Member of Congress, no Congressman or Congresswoman shall lobby any branch of government at the federal level, whether employed by a lobbying firm, self-employed as a lobbyist, or working as an agent for any organization required to be registered by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, as amended from time to time.
Section 8.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within twenty years from the date of its submission to the states by the Congress.
