[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 57 (Tuesday, March 28, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H3856-H3857]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                              TERM LIMITS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Bryant] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BRYANT of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in strong 
support of term limits.
  There is a pervasive consensus among the American public to see 
Congress enact them.
  The people of Tennessee who I represent are ready to see Congress 
move beyond power and politics and start functioning as a true 
representative body of the public.
  Term limits will allow that to happen more than anything else.
  Already, some 42 percent of the Members of Congress are currently 
serving under term limits.
  And many cities and communities, including New York and Los Angeles--
both renowned for politics and political entrenchment--have imposed 
term limits on their Government officials.
  The first doctrine by which this country was governed--the Articles 
of Confederation--contained term limits.
  I believe had our Founding Fathers foreseen some 200 years into the 
future how the purpose of public service has been interpreted, they 
would have placed term limits in the constitution.
  Mr. Chairman, opponents of term limits will argue that elections such 
as this past November exemplify exactly why we don't need term limits.
  But the fact of the matter is that over 90 percent of all incumbents 
were re-elected this past November.
  The issue before us tonight is paramount to keeping our word with the 
American people.
  Literally every poll shows they want to see term limits enacted.
  As public servants, I believe the words of former South Dakota 
Senator George McGovern are a grim reminder to us all why Congress 
needs term limits.
  When the Senator left the U.S. Senate after 18 years to open his own 
business, he had this to say:
  ``I wish I had known a little more bout the problems of the private 
sector . . . I have to pay taxes, meet a payroll--I wish I had a better 
sense of what it took to do that when I was in Washington.''
  I urge my colleagues to support the will of the people and enact term 
limits.
                              {time}  2000

  As I mentioned earlier, tomorrow this House will vote as far as I 
know for the first time on the floor on a bill that involves term 
limits. And I know there has been a lot of talk about term limits 
across the country. Many of us campaigned on that as freshmen. We 
subscribed to the Contract With America. And I believe most of my 
freshmen colleagues support this very strongly.
  I think, though, there is a real opportunity for us tomorrow to bring 
to the floor those votes that represent Americans and vote for term 
limits. I think many believe that term limits will not pass. I think it 
will pass. I can assure the American public that tomorrow probably 80 
percent or more of the Republicans will vote for term limits. The 
Republican Party can deliver on its votes for term limits.
  And if we can get just half of the other side, 50 percent of the 
Democrats to vote for term limits tomorrow with us, we can see to it 
that a constitutional amendment is passed and that the American public, 
which overwhelmingly supports term limits, will have that 
constitutional amendment passed out of this House of Representatives.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to work with us in a 
bipartisan fashion. Again, we can deliver the 80 percent of the 
Republicans if they can deliver the 50 percent, the one-half of the 
Democrats needed. And I believe so strongly in this that if we do not 
pass this term limits amendment, that many of the people who go up for 
reelection next year, in 1996, cannot possibly defend their vote 
against term limits to their constituents, and if this vote tomorrow 
does anything beyond hopefully passage, it will make everyone in this 
House vote up or down, yes or no for term limits for the first time 
ever, not bottled up in committee, but on the House floor for the first 
time 
[[Page H3857]] and then the American public, each constituency, each 
constituent voter in the district can then see very clearly how their 
Congressman feels about term limits by looking at how they vote 
tomorrow.
  With the difficulty of defending such a vote I would ask all of my 
colleagues to consider if they have any doubt about this amendment, 
consider voting for it. This is what the public wants, this is what is 
best for this country, and I urge my colleagues to vote for term limits 
tomorrow when they cast their vote for the first time ever on this 
House floor.


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