Q&A on the News

Q: How can we make term limits for members of Congress? — Delano Stevens, Macon

A: An estimated 74 percent of U.S. voters support term limits, according to a 2016 poll by Rasmussen Reports, but it will require an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to establish them for Congress.

Between 1990 and 1994, voters in 21 states overwhelmingly passed ballot initiatives that would create term limits for their members of Congress, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures. In 1994, Republicans won a majority in both the House and Senate on a platform that included setting congressional term limits.

However, the Supreme Court in U.S. Term Limits Inc. v. Thornton ruled in 1995 that states cannot impose term limits on their federal representatives or senators.

Why? The Constitution does not limit the number of terms that members of Congress can serve, and the court’s decision says states cannot impose stricter qual- ifications than those set by the Constitution. A constitutional amendment is necessary.

The House voted on amendments in 1995 and 1997 that would have limited U.S. senators to two 6-year terms and U.S. representatives to six 2-year terms. Each vote passed, but fell short of the required twothirds majority (290 votes) needed to amend the Constitution. A Senate vote on congressional term limits failed in 2012.

Earlier this year, Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Ron DeSantis, both Republicans, introduced a term limits constitutional amendment. Absent congressional action, a constitutional convention could consider an amendment if two-thirds of the state legislatures call for it. However, the Constitution has never been amended that way. Fast Copy News Service wrote this column; Keith Still contributed. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).

About 74 percent of U.S. voters want term limits for members of Congress, possible only by constitutional amendment.