For immediate release
January 8, 2025
Contact: Scott Tillman, U.S. Term Limits
Phone: (321) 345-7455
stillman@termlimits.com
Senator Ted Cruz Files Resolution to Term Limit Congress
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Term Limits (USTL) applauds Senator Ted Cruz for proposing a congressional term limits amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Senate Joint Resolution 1 (SJR1), once passed by Congress and ratified by the states, would limit Representatives to three terms, or 6 years, and Senators to two terms, or 12 years. Its companion bill in the U.S. House, HJR12, is sponsored by Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina.
There are 12 senators listed on the resolution. U.S. Term Limits has secured pledges from more than 140 members of the 119th Congress, including 23 U.S. Senators. The pledge is not a self-limit. The goal of USTL is to implement term limits on the entire institution and not on individual members of Congress.
Sen. Cruz says, “Term limits are critical to fixing what’s wrong with Washington, D.C., the Founding Fathers envisioned a government of citizen legislators who would serve for a few years and return home, not a government run by a small group of special interests and lifelong, permanently entrenched politicians who prey upon the brokenness of Washington to govern in a manner that is totally unaccountable to the American people.“
SJR1 is being spearheaded by the nonpartisan, nonprofit U.S. Term Limits and is aimed at creating regular open seats thereby increasing the diversity of views and experiences represented in Congress.
USTL President Philip Blumel praised the resolution, calling it “a vital step towards restoring citizen-government on Capitol Hill.”
The proposed amendment would not retroactively apply to current members of Congress. The clock would start ticking for the entire Congress after the measure is codified into law following ratification by three-fourths of the states.
According to the latest nationwide poll on term limits conducted by Pew Research, the issue of term limits enjoys wide bipartisan support. Pew Research reports, “Support for term limits is broad and strong across all political, geographic and demographic groups. An overwhelming 87% of voters approve of a constitutional amendment that will place term limits on members of Congress.”
SJR1 and HJR12 are part of USTL’s multi-pronged strategy to secure term limits on Congress. Since the Supreme Court opined that term limits may only be imposed through an amendment to the Constitution (U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton 1995), USTL is also working with state legislatures to propose an amendment through a national term limits amendment convention, a power delegated to the states through Article V of the U.S. Constitution.
The complete text of the SJR-1 proposal may be viewed here.
###
___________________________________
U.S. Term Limits is the largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advocating solely on term limits. Our mission is to improve the quality of government with a citizen legislature that closely reflects its constituency and is responsive to the needs of the people it serves. USTL does not require a self-limit on individuals. Our aim is to limit the terms of all members of Congress as an institution. Find out more at termlimits.org.