Sen. Ted Cruz reintroduces constitutional amendment imposing term limits on members of Congress

News & Politics

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz was joined by a handful of GOP colleagues on Monday in reintroducing a constitutional amendment imposing term limits on members of Congress.

What are the details?

Cruz tweeted out the text of the resolution filed by himself along with Sens. Mike Braun (Ind.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Rick Scott (Fla.), Pat Toomey (Pa.) and Todd Young (Ind.), explaining that “the amendment would limit U.S. senators to two six-year terms and members of the U.S. House of Representatives to three two-year terms.”

Cruz’s office also provided background on the senator’s previous efforts to put term limits in place for federal lawmakers, noting that:

  • In 2016, Sen. Cruz and former Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) published an op-ed in the Washington Post announcing their intention to introduce a term limits amendment.
  • In 2017, Sen. Cruz first introduced a constitutional amendment mandating term limits in the 115th Congress.
  • In 2019, Sen. Cruz led a hearing as chairman of the Senate Judiciary’s Subcommittee on The Constitution, titled, ‘Keeping Congress Accountable: Term Limits in the United States.’ The hearing examined the use of term limits as an avenue to break the cycle of career politicians and encourage accountability in Congress.
  • In 2019, Sen. Cruz and former Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to impose term limits on members of Congress in the 116th Congress.

What about lobbying ban?

Also in 2019, the conservative Cruz even gave a nod to far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) when she called for making it illegal for members of Congress to become lobbyists after leaving office.

“Here’s something I don’t say often: on this point, I AGREE with @AOC,” Cruz wrote in reply to one of the congresswoman’s tweets. “Indeed, I have long called for a LIFETIME BAN on former Members of Congress becoming lobbyists. The Swamp would hate it, but perhaps a chance for some bipartisan cooperation?”

Esquire political editor Jack Holmes argued at the time:

If you impose term limits, particularly without a lobbying ban, you’re actually shifting the incentives for congresspeople in a bad way: since they’re only going to be around for a limited time, they’d better make career plans for afterwards. Like, say, securing a lobbying gig. That’s going to lead to poor performance while they’re in office, particularly for anyone living in their district who can’t afford a big-money campaign donation.

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24 Comments

  1. Why not add it to the ballots in 2022 so that all citizens have a chance to vote on this? A referendum I’m sure would be supported by all who vote. We need this badly to get rid of the swamp and the likes of Joe Biden who in the stroke of a pen has ruined thousands of jobs for hard working people. Joe, Nancy and Schiff have been around way too long and therefore continue to ruin the lives of the people they say they are helping.

      1. Please take this action, our country has needed this way to long. The way things are now, the people of America really don’t have any say on anything but are by law forced to pay the bill, on of which is the indoctrination of our children and grandchildren in the public school system.
        This is a complete disgrace!

  2. Great amendment. In the past several years, our Government Leaders have demonstrated their independence from constituents as their terms have extended to life-long positions. Term limits are needed for Governors, US and State Representatives, and Judges to match the existing term limits of Presidents. Extended and seeming life-long terms develop dynasties, corruption, and warped views. These long terms have resulted in split and partison barriers in our legislative, judicial lives.

    I am strong advocate of our liberties and for big government to stop restricting and regulating our lives.

    1. And to help this along, there should be NO RETIREMENT, or Special Treatment for ANYBODY in ELECTED GOVERNMENT Positions! And, Government workers should be limited to 20 years, and fall under retirement rules just like the National Guard and Reserves! But, to be honest, you might just as well ask for a living purple unicorn for every little girl, and Harley Davidson Motorcycles that fly, for every little boy! THAT would happen sooner than getting Congress to limit themselves like this…
      THIS is the reason why Ted Cruz, and a lot of other First Term Congressmen, in BOTH Houses, were sent to Washington D.C., back in 2008! That they were immediately told to sit down and color, by BOTH Democrats and Republicans, opened my eyes to the reality of the GOP and RINOs! This became even more obvious that “Republicans” were just as complicit as “Democrats”, when the PEOPLE spoke (voted), and elected a “Non-Politician” to Office! While Cruz was MY first choice, I got behind the duly elected president, and watched him stomp on toes, trying to FIX the problems of the nation, problems that shouldn’t even BE! . Then, the “Never Trump” republicans came out. So, I stopped being a Republican. Stopped giving these people more of my money, when they talk such a good game, but are then unable to tie their shoelaces when elected! Makes me want to puke! So, now the Democrats hold all the cards, again, and we, as a country, are about to suffer like you cannot imagine, and the “Republicans” are already talking about raising more money and “FIGHTING FOR AMERICAN VALUES!!! Bullshit…

  3. Term limits are needed, as are limitations on Congress People (Senators and Representatives) restricting their ability to enact “things” for themselves without We The People’s approval,eg. pay raises, lifetime pensions, and other perks. We The People should have a say, votes on ballots, on what they do for themselves but don’t do for us. No citizen of the USA should oppose Term Limits, unless they are a politician. Politicians aren’t concerned about We The People, they’re concerned about Them the Rulers. It’s past time for Them to be able to do whatever They want without We The People having a direct say. Term limits are a start. We need, as the Founding Fathers intended, Citizen-Statesmen NOT Statesmen-Citizens. The ember is smoldering and the wind is starting to pickup.

    1. I basically agree, buuuut, and please correct me where I’m off base. I am not a Republican, but right now I tend to magnet to Republican candidates. If the candidate is not a proven Conservative, we need to avoid them, but what about staunch Conservatives that will be in their last term should term limits be adopted? ?
      I once was a Democrat, remember JFK a true Democrat once stated “ask not what your Country can do for you, ask what you can do for your Country”. John Kennedy, wasn’t a perfect Democratic, but he was a America first President, and would do anything to achieve that agenda. He was a rich man when he was elected, so when he ran for President the opposition wanted to spin that like it was a bad thing. But he didn’t run for Office to get rich, for sure, and he was a believer in transparency and no secrets. That’s why I appreciated him, but that may have been his down fall.
      So my question, how do you keep the good guys in, when term limits forces them out ? Not every candidate is a ‘crazy Nancy, a ‘mad Maxine, moron McConnell ! The O’Biden Harris Administration is a “reboot” Obama 3rd term, no doubt, and all their cabinet members are Obama re-treads, with the old Obama Agenda.
      They’re trying to pass “Brownshirt Laws” to keep conservative candidates out, and the ‘term limits” will further that agenda.
      The Fascist group Antifa claims to be anti-fascist, yet is assisting fascist Democratic Socialist Parties, so why is the Democratic Party supporting them and passing laws against conservatives ? ?
      In 1933, Berlin Germany, the ‘Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler took control of The Parliament, but still had opposition. By some coincidence during a Parliamentary meeting, with the opposition in house, a fire broke out and 92 opposition Parliament members were killed. Then the Nazi Party blamed the opposition Party. Sound familiar ? ?
      What a coincidence, the Nazi Party next passed laws to force their opposition out of public service. What a coincidence. Then the Nazi Party passed gun laws “to protect the children”, what a coincidence!
      You see where this is going?

  4. Term limits are a very good idea. However, I don’t agree with the length of the terms suggested. 2 terms as a Senator is fine. That equals 12 years of service there. I think the number of years of service as a Congressperson should also equal 12 years or 6 terms total. A number of times, a Congressperson has served for a fairly long time,only to then run as a Senator and stick around for a long time. If one initially serves as a Congressperson, then IF they switch to being a Senator, they should be limited to a single term.

    Regardless, neither should ever be allowed to become a lobbyist to gain a cushy position based on their knowledge and contacts they made while serving. Any pension they receive should also be limited to 25% of their ending salary when they leave. It should not be 100% when they only worked for at most, 12 years.

  5. It is not the elected ones we need to worry about. It is the non-elected professional bureaucrats that are the biggest problem. You know the ones. Comey, Faucci, Birx, Brennan, Rosenstein, Mueller, especially those at the top. These folks are stacked against a maverick like Trump. They are the REAL swamp creatures. They will always stay with the status quo and do ANYTHING to keep their jobs and increase their status and influence with the prevailing wind.

  6. I agree on the term limits!!!!! Miss Piggie has been there way to long!!!!! But why not add another limit to this!!!!! WE, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, need to vote on this and WE also need to vote on their pay!!!!!! I am retired and living payday to payday and I always have more money going out than I have coming in!!!!! Maybe we should be able to set up our own pay for us and let the people on Capital Hill live as we do!!!! I would love to see any of them live on less than $2000.00 a month!!!!! On SSI I got a 1.6% increase this year, which amounted to about a $13.00 raise after Medicare was taken out I still can’t live but payday to payday!!!!! I remember aoc saying she couldn’t live on her $147,000.00 salary, I know that I could live pretty good on that amount!!!!!! Maybe here there also sould be an age limit placed on people like aoc, pigloose and the like, say like 45 to 70, the mandatory retirement age!!!!! 45 to make sure they have grown out of their puberty stage of life and the 70 because that is the mandatory age requirement by the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!!!!!!! No more career politicians to run for the POTUS!!!!!

  7. Wow, so many ideas. Kennedy – I was a young kid then and Kennedy was likely a Blue Dog Democrat. He had is faults but most people at the time thought he had the vision – which is likely what got him done in by we can only guess. Not going down that rabbit hole but there’s likely more to it than we know or will ever know thanks to the Bureaucrats (later). I think Term Limits, properly implemented, will solve several issues that would hopefully come up during the debate. I think the proposed limits by Sen Cruz would allow a “Citizen” that wants to serve and proves themselves worthy in their first term would be able to serve a total of 18 years as a Representative then a Senator. If that becomes consecutive terms, there is the danger of a “Stateman” becoming intrenched in the “System (think Bureaucrats, Swamp, Establishment, etc.). I’ve always thought if a person becomes a legislator, they should have to go back, in a short time, and live with what they thrust on the rest of us. “Citizen” first. How to oust the Bureaucrats can be done by making sure the “Bad Ones” can be removed on a regular basis. The entrenched bureaucrats know the system and keep the system protecting them. Thank you in part to Unions that make the rules so that the bad seeds are hard to weed out. That issue needs to be address regardless of term limits for Congressmen – and the sooner the better. We The People should have a say on whether our Congressmen can give themselves a pay raise or not (let the people vote every 2 years), whether they get a lifetime pension or not (why not let them have a 401K like the rest of us), whether they get the other perks they do are not, they live very well and usually come out of Congress wealthier than they went in. How is it that a person that went to serve We The People is richer when they come out of office than when they went in but We The People are still living check to check. Term limits are the tip of the Swamp Iceberg and are needed. The rest of the Iceberg needs to be melted. Unfortunately, there are about 80% of the voting population that is apathetic and don’t keep up with what’s happening in the USA; therefore, a small percentage of people know what’s going on but can’t overcome the Sheep that will do what they’re told and go where they’re told as the “Government” continues to “give” them stuff. I thought a lot of that 80% woke up (I hate that WOKE word as it’s currently used) in 2015 and 2016, but it appears they went back to sleep to a degree. God Help USA.

  8. I strongly agree with Sen Cruz on limiting time in office. And, also, that representatives and senators should not become lobbyists. Further, I agree that there should be a mandatory retirement age of 70 for members of Congress, imposed by the next election. Please, put it before the people. But, don’t believe Congress will ever give voters the right to be heard on this issue as it risks the loss of their self-protection. And, Congressional members should have the same health insurance as other employees of the federal government. Let them experience what the rest of America goes through instead of special benefits for them. Senator Cruz, your proposal designates you as a statesman. Those who disagree are simply politicians.

  9. Agree that people who serve in congress can not become lobbyists. Would be good if they could have no influence on future congressmen. I like the mandatory retirement but term limits should solve that issue, unless, of course, a person got elected later in life. I’d like their health care too. I agree they shouldn’t have specialized care better than the rest of us that are paying for what they get. A Recall of any congress person that doesn’t support letting We The People have a voice, a VOTE, is an option – just takes work. I wish there were more people in congress that would take the initiative and fix some of the things that are messed up and do what’s RIGHT for We The People of the USA.

  10. Term limits is a great place to start, but you need to add in that their salaries will be 1/3 of what they are now, they can’t vote themselves a pay raise, they can’t accept money or favors for speaking at events, they don’t get a retirement when they leave office, they get EXACTLY the same medical and dental benefits that normal Americans get, they are not allowed to be elected to office again once their term is up, and they get no fees for anything they do after their term is up. That is the way it was supposed to be in the beginning of the USA, not a career. Clean the self-serving crap out of the government and see how many good representatives we get then.

  11. Great ideas. There are more. Question is, How does it get done? Senator Cruz, are you willing to lead the effort and fight to get these things done?

  12. Term limits needs to start with the states. Each state needs to pass laws to limit each senator and congressman/woman.

  13. It’s too bad that the career politicians will never vote for term limits. They want to keep their jobs. Being a senator or a representative was never meant to be a career. it was for a person to take time out from their normal life and serve time in Washington DC running the country. Since the career politician came along they have run it in to the ground. It will take a constitutional convention or a convention of states to enact term limits. Just about every other elected government position in this country has term limits except for congress.

  14. So, what would be the downside? Also would loose Pelosi, Shumer, Swalwell, Wilson, Lee, Schiff, need I go on? The Swamp would be drained – unfortunately, when something is drained, the good must go with the bad. Let’s get rid of the bad and replace, hopefully, with some good on both sides – it’s not like there aren’t bad apples in both barrels. Yep, still want term limits and more for the good of We The People.

  15. How about a novel idea, those who run and do what they say they ran for “US” and that tried to drain the swamp, LET THEM STAY , and those who don’t serve “US’ make it easier to RECALL THEM, Flush the TOILET but not toilet itself! The toilet is not bad, just the “STUFF’ (swamp favors ,Corruption, Graft, Nepotism ,ETC that’s in it!
    “WE” as private citizens keep our jobs by doing a good job and rewarded, (pay raise, job security, advancement), and THEY should be held accountable too!

    ‘LET’S FLUSH’

  16. Our founding fathers did not envision career politicians but rather envisioned fresh cycling of private citizens, fresh thoughts and ideas into the congress on a regular basis that are more in touch with the American public. With career politicians as we have seen, we have imperialist that are out of touch with America and self absorbed with power, money and self interest. They waste time and tax payer money on personal interests, vendetta’s and power grabbing. With term limits imposed it would greatly improve their efforts to do what is best for America instead of themselves and this would greatly benefit America as a country and the world we live in.

  17. IF the good ones stayed true, that would be good, but the toilet just holds the stuff as the building holds the people. Flushing the building means getting rid of all the stuff at some point. The good folks included. Keeping good things sounds like a great idea if sometimes, like keeping apples in a barrel, things go bad and spoil the rest. The founding fathers realized that and never intended for the contents to go bad, it just did. Term limits may have some downsides but the upsides seem to outweigh them. People tend to loose touch with We The People when their in a barrel, and they appear to start to stink after a time. They also are more concerned with getting re-elected than they are in doing what’s right for We The People.

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