[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 57 (Tuesday, March 28, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H3858]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              TERM LIMITS A NECESSITY FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Fox] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, term limits, the contract item 
with perhaps the most public support, comes to the floor of the House 
tomorrow and some say it has the least chance of passage. I hope not. 
Eighty percent of the Republicans at least support it, all we need is 
40 percent of the Democrats in the House to support it for passage.
  In my view, term limits are not only a reasonable approach but a 
necessity for good government. Some will argue that the results of the 
last election in November which brought each of my colleagues here to 
the 104th Congress indicate the need. However, the fact is that despite 
an above average turnover in the 103d and 104th Congresses, incumbents 
still enjoy a 9 in 10 chance of reelection. More importantly, in the 
103d Congress the average tenure of Democrat committee chairmen was 28 
years.
  The fact is that the current system allows certain people to spend a 
lifetime in Washington while some quickly fall out of touch with their 
constituents and consolidate the power base that used to ensure 
continued success in passing wasteful and pork barrel programs.

                              {time}  2015

  Additionally, these career Members of Congress continue to stockpile 
money from special interest groups, making all the more unlikely that 
they could be defeated. The disparity of fund-raising capability 
discourages many qualified individuals from running in the first place.
  After California passed term limits in 1990, the number of candidates 
for office increased by 40 percent.
  Mr. Speaker, after 40 years of one-party rule in this Congress, 
before last November, Congress had grown insulated, unresponsive to the 
will of the American people. President Clinton has consistently opposed 
even the consideration of term limits and will again defend the status 
quo.
  Now with Republicans in control of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House 
of Representatives, for the first time in history we will vote on term 
limits. I am committed to passing term limits, and I am working with 
like-minded Members of Congress to create a citizen legislature that is 
accountable to the American people and not beholden to the special 
interests.
  Term limits will end congressional careerism, and the American people 
will be better served under this kind of reform.
  There are three major Republican bills that will come before the 
House, the Inglis bill, which calls for 6 years maximum, the McCollum 
bill, 12 years, and then Hilleary's bill, which calls for the States to 
decide the exact terms. Whatever the bill is, we believe that term 
limits is a step in the right direction, an idea whose time has 
arrived.
  American democracy cannot be considered truly representative in the 
current system that perpetuates incumbency and seniority-based power. 
The seniority system forces a network that doles out power and 
influence according to time spent in office. Term limits will cause a 
systemic change in this internal power structure of the Congress. 
Instead of committee chairs and appointed leadership positions being 
granted on the basis of seniority, merit and competency will be the 
basis for our future leaders.

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