Term Limits for Congress

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TERM LIMITS FOR CONGRESS I believe that term limits should be placed on our Congressmen and women because it would allow for a more efficient Congress. The current Congress is in shambles, a dismal failure and is in desperate need of new ideas, procedures, and influence. With term limits in place, Congress will be more responsible toward their constituents because they themselves will soon be constituents. They will have to live under and abide by the laws they created while in office. They’ll have less time in office to develop money ties to lobbyists and other special interest groups, thereby weakening the threat of lobbyists being able to influence legislation. The current system in Congress tends to lead to a system of seniority, meaning those who have spent the most time in office have the most power (in committees, procedures, etc.); so, politicians focus on staying in office. Districts & states don't receive equal power in Congress, and fresh new elected officials have limited ability to make changes. If Congress has term limits in place, their power will also be limited. Candidates will be more likely to run for the purpose of serving the people, and they would have to leave office before corruption dominates their decisions. The representatives could focus on actually doing their jobs, rather than simply passing legislation to get them re-elected and make them look good. The term limits would also allow for a greater degree of representation if the House were capped at 2 terms, or 4 years and the Senate at 1 term, or 6 years. I feel that that is sufficient time to get familiar with how Washington works and to become acquainted with the legislation. The current Congress is heavily entrenched in partisan politics, resulting in gridlock when trying to pass any type of legislation. If term limits were enacted, toeing the party line would be
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