Bill Text: TX HCR97 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Memorializing the U.S. Congress to propose and submit to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment requiring term limits for members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-18 - Referred to State Affairs [HCR97 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HCR97-Introduced.html
| 82R3918 BPG-D | ||
| By: Hunter | H.C.R. No. 97 | |
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| WHEREAS, Our nation's founders well understood the | ||
| importance of maintaining a close connection between government and | ||
| the people it serves, and therefore favored the concept of term | ||
| limits, then known as "rotation in office"; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In the First Continental Congress, Thomas Jefferson | ||
| proposed limiting congressional tenure "to prevent every danger | ||
| which might arise to American freedom by continuing too long in | ||
| office the members of the Continental Congress," a principle | ||
| supported by Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, John Adams, and | ||
| others; accordingly, Article V of the Articles of Confederation | ||
| limited each delegate to no more than three years in office in any | ||
| six-year period, and George Washington enshrined this principle by | ||
| serving only two terms as president; with the concept of rotation in | ||
| office already becoming well-established among members of | ||
| Congress, mention of term limits was omitted in the United States | ||
| Constitution; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Most members of Congress served but one or two terms | ||
| until after the Civil War; by the time of the New Deal, only about a | ||
| quarter of incoming members of any Congress were freshmen, and in | ||
| the past decade, reelection rates in the house have hovered at | ||
| around 96 percent; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In 1951, the United States Constitution was amended | ||
| to limit presidents to two terms; many political scientists have | ||
| since observed that the institution of congressional term limits | ||
| could cure the resulting imbalance between these two branches of | ||
| federal government, and the American public has expressed wide | ||
| support for such limits; voters in almost two dozen states approved | ||
| term limits for their officials during the 1990s, and in a recent | ||
| poll by a prominent news organization, almost 8 in 10 registered | ||
| voters expressed support for a cap on tenure by their congressional | ||
| representatives; other polls have expressed similar | ||
| dissatisfaction with the status quo; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The institution of term limits will ensure | ||
| competitive elections and bring new ideas and fresh perspectives to | ||
| a Congress that is made up of citizen legislators rather than career | ||
| politicians; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to propose and | ||
| submit to the states for ratification an amendment to the United | ||
| States Constitution to impose a limit of four two-year terms on | ||
| members of the House of Representatives; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official | ||
| copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to | ||
| the president of the Senate and speaker of the House of | ||
| Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the | ||
| members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that | ||
| this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a | ||
| memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. | ||
