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Colonel's
Corner - Term Limits
Many citizens run for political office
with the greatest of intentions of service
to the people. Unfortunately power corrupts,
it is human nature. Our founding fathers
recognized this human failing and suggested
that they expected common men to step up,
run for Congress, serve the nation, then
step down and go about their business.
Unfortunately, being a Congressman or
Senator has become a profession, not a
service to the country. Term limits will not
solve all political corruption, but it can
be a huge step in the right direction.
Therefore I am committing to the citizens of
the 3d Congressional District that I will
introduce an Amendment to the US
Constitution to limit the terms of service
in the House of Representatives and Senate.
The draft Amendment is below.
Some
will argue for a shorter period, for example
eight years. Some time ago I talked to Dick
Armey, at that time the House Minority
Leader, and he mentioned that it took 5-6
years for a Congressman to really understand
the details and tricks of the federal
bureaucracy. He noted that if all
Congressmen left after a maximum of eight
years, the Congress would lack the
institutional knowledge to control the
bureaucracy, particularly in the budgetary
and rule making processes. It is inherent in
all bureaucracies to try to grow their
budget and to expand their power, and
Congress must be the brake to stop them,
else they will regulate us to death and
spend us into bankruptcy. Hence, the
12/18/24 recommendation in the proposed
Amendment.
Others will not like that
I am exempting time already served from the
limits. I do not like to do that, but in
order to get the Amendment through the House
and Senate with a two-thirds majority, it
will probably be necessary to include that
concession. Otherwise some of the more
senior members with considerable clout will
kill the Amendment before it gets to the
House floor for a vote.
If you have
any thoughts or comments, email Mike at
mike.bendas@bendasforcongress.com
We
are building the campaign team for the final
month. If you want to get involved, now is
the time to make a difference. Email me
soonest.
If you can help out with a
small contribution, a few dollars go a long
ways. Each $25 buys over 100 flyers, each
$50 purchases 20 yard signs. Make a
difference! You can contribute at
http://www.bendasforcongress.com
Proposed Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Terms of service to the United States
Congress are limited as follows.
No
person may serve more than twelve years as a
Representative in the House of
Representatives except that any person who
is appointed, elected or otherwise assumes
the office of Representative at other than
the beginning of the term shall be permitted
to complete the term and to serve twelve
additional years.
No person may serve
more than eighteen years as a Senator in the
Senate except that any person who is
appointed, elected or otherwise assumes the
office of Senator at other than the
beginning of the term for that position, and
that term has less than three years
remaining, shall be permitted to complete
the term and to serve for an additional
eighteen years. If three years or more are
remaining in the term, the person is
restricted to completing the term plus an
additional twelve years.
No person
may serve for more than a total of
twenty-four years as a Representative and a
Senator.
Any Representative or
Senator in office when this Amendment is
approved will be permitted to serve the
amount of time as if the beginning of their
next term is their first term in Congress.
Any votes or actions taken by a
Representative or Senator during a period
that exceeds these limits on any of the
terms of service will be null and void as if
their votes or actions were never cast or
taken.
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