New Hampshire state representatives Skip Rollins and Walter Spilsbury from Sullivan District 3 have pledged their support for term limits on members of Congress. The commitment comes as part of an ongoing campaign by U.S. Term Limits (USTL), a nonpartisan group advocating for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would restrict the number of terms federal legislators can serve.
Both lawmakers signed the USTL pledge, which states: “I pledge that, as a member of the state legislature, I will cosponsor, vote for, and defend the resolution applying for an Article V convention for the sole purpose of enacting term limits on Congress.”
The movement aims to persuade 34 state legislatures to call for a convention under Article V of the Constitution, specifically to propose congressional term limits. In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled in Thornton v. U.S. Term Limits that only a constitutional amendment could establish such limits.
Nick Tomboulides, Chief Executive Officer of USTL, emphasized the importance of action at the state level: “The Constitution allows for amendments to be proposed by either 2/3 of Congress or 2/3 of the states. While we’d like for Congress to take the high road and propose term limits on itself, we know they are too self-interested to do that without external pressure.” He added, “That is why it is important to get buy-in from state legislators. Once proposed, the amendment must be ratified by 38 states.”
Tomboulides also referenced public opinion on this issue: “More than 87% of Americans have rejected the career politician model and want to replace it with citizen leadership. The way to achieve that goal is through a congressional term limits amendment. Skip and Walter know this and are willing to work to make sure we reach our goal.”
A recent Pew Research poll found strong bipartisan backing for congressional term limits. According to Pew’s analysis: “An overwhelming majority of adults (87%) favor limiting the number of terms that members of Congress are allowed to serve. This includes a majority 56% who strongly favor this proposal, just 12% are opposed.”
U.S. Term Limits describes itself as the largest nonpartisan nonprofit organization focused solely on advocating for term limits in government institutions.
