For immediate release
December 28, 2017
Contact: Stacey Selleck, U.S. Term Limits
Georgia Gubernatorial Hopeful, Sen. Hunter Hill, Signs U.S. Term Limits Article V Pledge
Atlanta, Georgia – U.S. Term Limits (USTL), the leader in the national movement to limit terms for elected officials, praises Georgia Gubernatorial hopeful and current state Senator, Hunter Hill, for signing its Article V Term Limits pledge. USTL is currently gathering support from state lawmakers across the nation for a national amendment convention to propose congressional term limits.
In Georgia, the application passed the state senate last session and is currently awaiting a nod from the Georgia House Rules Committee. It must pass both chambers to be counted among the 34 needed to call the convention. Because the measure is a resolution and not a bill, it does not need the approval of either the Governor, Congress, or the President to be entered into the Congressional record.
The U.S. Term Limits Amendment Pledge is provided to elected officials and candidates. The gubernatorial pledge Hill signed reads, “I pledge that, as Governor, I will support a resolution applying for an Article V convention for the limited purpose of enacting term limits on Congress.”
In the 1995 case, Thornton v. U.S. Term Limits, the Supreme Court of the United States opined that only a Constitutional Amendment could limit the terms of U.S. Senators and House Representatives. According to Nick Tomboulides, Executive Director of USTL, the best chance of imposing term limits on congress is through an Article V Convention of state legislatures. “The Constitution allows for amendments to be proposed by either 2/3 of Congress or 2/3 of the states. While we’d like for Congress to take the high road and propose limits on itself, our goal is to trigger the latter, an amendment proposal convention,” claims Tomboulides. “That is why it is important to get buy-in from state officials,” he added. Once proposed, the amendment must be ratified by 38 states.
USTL President, Philip Blumel, commented on Hill’s pledge, saying, “Hunter’s support of term limits shows that there are legislators who are willing to listen to the majority of voters who want term limits. America needs a Congress that will be served by citizen legislators, not career politicians.”
Blumel noted, “More than 75% of Americans have rejected the career politician model and want to replace it with citizen leadership. The way to achieve that goal is through a congressional term limits amendment. Hill knows this and is willing to work to make sure we reach our goal.”
According to the last nationwide poll on term limits conducted by Gallup, the issue enjoys wide bipartisan support. The results demonstrate that 75% of Americans support congressional term limits. Gallup’s analysis states, “Republicans and Independents are slightly more likely than Democrats to favor term limits; nevertheless, the vast majority of all party groups agree on the issue. Further, Gallup finds no generational differences in support for the proposal.”
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