[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 53 (Tuesday, April 23, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3826-S3827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              TERM LIMITS

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I have been watching and listening with a 
great deal of interest to the debate on term limits. I think there are 
a lot of us who believe that, regardless of the arguments that come 
forth on term limits, there are not many minds that will be changed in 
this Chamber. But many of us have been concerned about the term limits 
issue long before we got to Congress. I know I became interested in it 
back in the 1970's, long before I was a Member of Congress.
  I think a lot of the reason is that you look and you see the things 
that are going on in this country, and you see that there is a 
necessity to change the way we have been doing business.
  One argument that has not been used during the course of this debate, 
that I have heard anyway, is the argument that if we had term limits, 
it would deter a lot of people from getting into a legislative position 
for perhaps the wrong reasons. I think quite often people with whom I 
have served who came here to Congress directly out of college never 
really had a real job in terms of the real world and did not have any 
idea of how tough it was out there.
  I look at a lot of the things that passed, such as the deficit that 
has piled up over the years. Certainly, in my position, I look at this 
as if this is a moral issue, and it is not going to be changed until we 
are able to change the type of individuals that serve here.
  We have excellent people serving here in Congress, but the thing that 
has always been a problem with me is that people who come to Congress, 
never having been exposed to the real

[[Page S3827]]

world, have a different set of values and have a different outlook on 
life than we have.
  I would agree with some of the previous speakers that we ought to 
have a situation in America where Members of Congress should all have 
to go out and make a living under the laws that they pass, and we would 
not have these problems.
  Someone not too long ago said that we have an overregulated society 
here. We certainly do. It is overregulation which mostly came about by 
people who have been in Congress for their entire adult life. This is 
something that can be changed.

  I am not optimistic that anything is going to happen with this today. 
But I will say this. There is going to be a record that will be 
established so that people who are running for office will know that 
the public will know how they stand on this very contentious issue. 
Over in the other body, in the House of Representatives, there is a 
Contract With America; 9 of the 10 items were passed over there. The 
tenth one that was not passed was term limitation.
  I believe it is something that is very healthy for our system, 
something that we all need to get on the record, and I think we will 
have that opportunity today. I believe that is in the best interest of 
this country.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. KASSEBAUM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________