New Hampshire state Senator Keith Murphy has signed a pledge supporting term limits for members of Congress, according to U.S. Term Limits (USTL), an organization that advocates for limiting the number of terms elected officials can serve.
USTL is working to gather support from state lawmakers across the country with the goal of getting 34 states to call for an amendment proposal convention focused specifically on congressional term limits. The pledge, which is offered to candidates and sitting members of state legislatures, 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 push comes after a 1995 Supreme Court decision in Thornton v. U.S. Term Limits found that only a constitutional amendment could impose such restrictions on federal legislators.
Nick Tomboulides, Chief Executive Officer of USTL, said: “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 pointed out public sentiment 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. Keith knows this and is willing to work to make sure we reach our goal.”
A recent nationwide poll conducted by Pew Research Center found broad bipartisan support 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 a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated solely to advocating for congressional term limits in order to create what it calls a more responsive citizen legislature.
