Momentum continues to build in our efforts to bypass Congress to get congressional term limits. In North Carolina, the House of Representatives passed our resolution. The resolution was sponsored by House Speaker Tim Moore and he had 31 co-sponsors. Now it’s on to the Senate to get it passed in North Carolina. Hi, I’m Holly, and this is Breaking News on Term Limits.
[music]Now it’s time for the update from the states and our efforts to bypass Congress. As I mentioned in the opening, North Carolina’s House of Representatives has passed our resolution. The resolution was sponsored by House Speaker Tim Moore and we’re thankful for his leadership on this issue. Now it’s on to the State Senate. Please remember to call your state senators and urge them to support our resolution. We’ve got great news coming out of Congress. House Joint Resolution 11, sponsored by Representative Ralph Norman, now has 82 co-sponsors, that’s right, 82. We’re gaining sponsors every single week. We’re so thrilled that this week representatives Matt Rosendale of Montana, Randy Feenstra of Iowa, Jake Ellzey of Texas, John Durant of California, and Thomas Tiffany of Wisconsin have all signed on board. We’re well on our way to getting 100 co-sponsors. We’ve got some good news and some bad news coming out of the states this week. In Pennsylvania, State Representative Ryan Mackenzie has filed House Resolution 37 calling for a national term limits amendment. His resolution already has nine co-sponsors. And in New Hampshire, well, we lost the vote, 145 to 224. We’ve got to do some work in New Hampshire. Remember, call your legislators and tell them to get on board with congressional term limits. We’ve got to bypass Congress to get this passed.
We’re pleased to welcome Sharon Jackson as our new Alaska State Chair. Sharon joins us with a very distinguished record of public service. Sharon was born and raised in Philadelphia and proudly served in the United States Army, which brought her to Alaska in 1983. Upon completion of her service, she enrolled in Charter College where she became a certified electronic technician. Following her heart to serve, she dedicated the next 10 years working for the National Federation of Independent Business and the National Write Your Congressman, where she provided education on legislation that would affect the longevity of free enterprise. Sharon’s passion to empower the people of Alaska to use their influence in government to preserve their freedoms, just as our founding fathers intended. In 2015, Sharon became the constituent liaison for Senator Dan Sullivan. She was appointed to the Alaska House of Representatives in 2019, representing District 13. Sharon currently serves as the Alaska Workforce Development Board and Serve Alaska. We are really glad that Sharon’s on board with us.
Here at US Term Limits, we take our pledge very seriously. That’s why we’re calling out Representative Claudia Tenney of New York and Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin for breaking their pledge to support US Term Limits Amendment. We’re launching billboards in their district to educate their constituents that they have broken their pledge to us. Now it’s time for the corrupt politician of the week. It’s former House Speaker Michael Madigan. Madigan served in the State House from 1971-2021, that’s 50 years. He served as Illinois’ House Speaker for 36 years. He was considered one of the most powerful politicians, not just in Illinois, but in the nation. During that time period, public corruption, ethics complaints, taxes, and public debt skyrocketed. Obviously, he’s no fan of term limits. He became a political liability as the House of Cards collapsed around him. Confidence of his were indicted. He was forced to step aside as Speaker, but he continued to stay in the State House until 2021, when the federal Department of Justice began investigating him. In March 2022, the federal government charged him with 22 counts of racketeering and bribery for his alleged improper dealings with the state’s largest utility company, ComEd.
Prosecutors further alleged that he used political power to unlawfully steer businesses to his private law firm. In October 2022, prosecutors filed an indictment that charged Madigan with conspiracy related to alleged corruption scheme involving Illinois’ AT&T. And now the man who oversaw much of Illinois’ ethics laws and is challenging his own indictment by saying the state’s bribery and official misconduct statutes are unconstitutional. That’s right. The very laws that were passed when he was Speaker of the House and that later he was indicted on, he’s now claiming are unconstitutional. I couldn’t think of a better person to be our poster child for term limits this week. In North Dakota, we’re calling out Representative Jim Kasper. He’s broken his promise to his constituents by introducing House Concurrent Resolution 3019, an amendment to repeal the just approved eight-year term limits and replace them with 12-year term limits. Last November, North Dakota voted for term limits for the legislature and the governor. And just like that, Kasper is seeking to undermine the will of the people. What is especially outrageous is that Kasper pledged to his constituents during his campaign in 2020, he would support eight-year term limits for the State House.
Now he’s broken his promise to the people. Hold him accountable. Opponents often claim that term limits will increase the power of bureaucrats. Not true. A 2019 study found that having term limits constrains bureaucrats because term limited legislators are more motivated to pass legislation before their time is up, whereas career politicians play the go along to get along game. Got to get behind term limits. Over 80% of Americans support congressional term limits. We can bypass Congress. We can make this a reality, but we need your help. As we saw in New Hampshire, legislators turned us down despite the overwhelming support for it. We need to educate those legislators and we need people like you to step forward to tell them, we want congressional term limits. One of the things you can do is be sure to share this program with your friends and get the word out. Congressional term limits can become a reality. We’re making progress every single week. Just over the past couple days, we now have 82 co-sponsors on Representative Ralph Norman’s bill. We’ve made significant progress in North Carolina and Tennessee. Each week we’re going to update you on how we’re getting closer and closer to passing congressional term limits. So we’ve asked you to join our efforts and to share this information with your friends. I’m Holly Robichaud and this is Breaking News on Term Limits. We’ll be back to you next week.
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