The potential game changer of this year is the commitment from Speaker Kevin McCarthy that there will be a vote on the U.S. Term Limits amendment proposal in 2023. The resolution has been introduced in the U.S. House as HJR11 by Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina.
It is Norman who secured McCarthy’s commitment as part and parcel of securing the votes necessary to win the House speakership. The California Republican eked out a victory after a historic 15 rounds of voting and intense negotiations. The vote for term limits was at the center of the concessions McCarthy made.
Additional leverage came from the thousands of emails and calls that our term limit supporters made into Congress and to McCarthy himself as part of our nationwide call-to-action. As a result, the US Term Limits amendment specifically became a major bargaining chip.
The impasse was historic as this is the first time in more than a century the House had multiple rounds of voting to elect its Speaker.
Technically, all the Speaker committed to do is bring the House resolution to the floor for a vote. It would need a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress.
We expect 133 cosponsors, representing both major political parties, to get on the bills in the House and the Senate. Currently, the Norman legislation has more than 80 cosponsors including lawmakers who were pro-McCarthy and people who are anti-McCarthy.
Also cosponsoring the resolutions are Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat and Rep. Joe Wilson, a long-time representative from South Carolina.
To remind all of the congressional pledge signers of their commitment, the digital team of U.S. Term Limits texts, emails, and has supporters contact them to get on the resolutions and bring it to a vote.
In addition, Legislative Director Shanna Chamblee personally delivered acrylic versions of their pledges to the incumbents in their offices in Washington, D.C.
Momentum is on our side.
The last time there was a vote on term limits in Congress was in the 1990s. This important reform will finally get the attention the American people demand, and the issue deserves. To hold McCarthy to his word, take action at termlimits.com/mccarthy.