Congressional Term Limits Introduction State-I

State-imposed limits on congressional tenure increase the qualifications for candidates for Congress in addition to those set forth in the Constitution. Consequently, as the Supreme Court recently held in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, they are an unconstitutional violation of the Qualifications Clauses. Furthermore, "quasi-term limits," whereby the state attempts to inhibit a candidate's access to a state ballot also violate the Qualifications Clauses. These types of limits are merely an attempt to circumvent the Court's ruling in Thornton and will likely be rejected by the courts. Thus, people who support limits on congressional tenure must advocate the passage of a constitutional amendment to that effect.

State-Imposed Limits on Congressional Tenure are Unconstitutional

The United States Constitution provides for popular election of the members of the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected to two-year terms and are up for re-election every second year. The Constitution further provides that House members must be at least twenty-five years of age, a citizen of the United States for seven years, and reside in the district in which they are elected. Calamita, a supporter of limits on congressional tenure, also notes that the Constitution mandates that there shall be equal representation of the citizens by their chosen representatives of to the House.

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geable body of men" and the president "a king for life, like the king of Poland." Today, citizens are looking again to the principle of rotation in office as an antidote to the contemporary problems of the permanent government, the advantages of electoral incumbency, bureaucratic excess, the absence of electoral competition, legislative aloofness, institutional deadlock, and the professionalization of American politics. The greatest problem cited by supporters of term limits is the problem of the advantage of incumbency. Term limit supporters argue that incumbents receive large, professional staffs, multiple offices, travel allowances, and substantial media access. These advantages give the incumbent the almost invincible power to defeat challengers. Term-limit supporters argue that these incumbency advantages are enough to scare off all serious challengers. One congressional observer estimates that House incumbents enjoy "salary, travel, office, staff and communication allowances that are . . . conservatively estimated to be worth more than $1 million over a two-year house term." In addition, they argue that incumbents enjoy tremendous influence over the redistricting process, and frequently use it to their electoral

Category: Government - C