Tien Ho - Congressional Term Limits

In light of the incumbency advantage and entrenched partisanship in Congress, unlimited Congressional tenure has been one of the most problematic aspects of American politics.  Terms limits, in the same way that they serve to curtail executive abuses of power, are indispensable to prevent potential corruption and dysfunction in Congress.  Today, the Congress proves highly unpopular in public opinion.  According to Gallup statistics, Americans' trust in the legislative branch trails far behind that in the executive branch (1).  Such striking public disapproval of Congress reflects its failure to effectively represent the people's interests, the cause of which is much attributed to the lack of term limits.

There are three main problems associated with unlimited Congressional tenure.  Without fail, the most recognized feature of Congressional elections is the incumbency advantage.  Opponents often argue term limits are unnecessary because voters can simply vote incompetent officials out of office every two years, yet holistically, the percentage of incumbents who win reelection has been over 90 percent (2).  During elections, incumbents can easily crush their challengers in terms of name recognition and campaign finance.  Such incumbency advantage sabotages the very notion of competition so dearly relished in American polity.  The lack of competitiveness in Congress has much to do with the loss of potential leaders who could make outstanding contributions to the commonwealth, but who are denied of the equal opportunities for recognition and achievement.  Another consequence of incumbency is the depression of voter turnout in midterm elections.  Since the 1980s, the percentage of eligible Americans voting for U.S. House has never surpassed 50 percent (3).  Voter turnout is a manifestation of citizens' faith in government, in its ability to promote changes structurally and ideologically, and alas, the entrenched pattern of reelection frustrates voters' political efficacy.  

Secondly, Congress is heavily rooted in partisan politics because incumbents, in an attempt to secure their party seats, seek to appeal only to certain groups of constituents who can give them the most votes.  As a result, to allow Congressional members to serve for the same gerrymandered districts of people for multiple terms is to risk minority rule at the expense of majority interests.  Instead of creating a representative government of, by, and for the people, unrestricted incumbency remunerates politicians a lifelong settlement in Congress.  In addition, entrenched partisanship in Congress also results in gridlock when it comes to adopting any legislation.  Since incumbents' main focus is to maintain the general approval of their parties and constituents, they tend to adopt a more ideologically extreme position than average Democrats or Republicans, therefore exacerbating the schism between the two parties.

Congressional Gridlock (4)

The third consequence of unlimited Congressional tenures is the growing influence of interest groups in American government.  Thanks to the incumbency advantage, lobbyists are able to manipulate incumbents' cravings for votes and financial support to establish a symbiotic relationship with Congressional members and shape public policy.  Accordingly, the lack of term limits is implicitly unconstitutional because it legitimizes the increased concentration of political power in the hands of the few old Congressmen who alienate public interests and yield to lobbyists' demands for the guaranteed sake of reelection.  There is no wrong to assert that Congress has become increasingly undemocratic provided that incumbents, with the assistance of their gerrymandered districts and special interest groups, continue to restrict the people' political voices to those that truly matter at election time.  The stress of partisanship plus the dominion of interest groups reduce any possibility for change and flexibility, which are the two determining mechanisms of American politics and democracy.

Lobbyists bribe Congressmen to obstruct reforms (5).

Even though there is strong argument that upholds the legitimacy of the existing Congressional tenure, it is important to understand that America was founded on a bastion of liberty, equity, and diversity that reflect the necessity of term limits in dissolving concentrated power and promoting changes.  Admittedly, legitimizing a Constitutional Amendment for Congressional term limits is not an easy task considering the court's disapproval in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (6), yet as democratic laboratories, states are able to exert pressure on the national government by proactively implementing term limits in their local legislatures.  In effect, 15 states have adopted term limits for legislators, as manifested in the following table (7):

		House	Senate
State	Year Enacted	Limit	Limit	% Voted Yes
Maine	1993	8	8	67.6
California	1990	6	8	52.2
Colorado	1990	8	8	71
Arkansas	1992	6	8	59.9
Michigan	1992	6	8	58.8
Florida	1992	8	8	76.8
Ohio	1992	8	8	68.4
South Dakota	1992	8	8	63.5
Montana	1992	8	8	67
Arizona	1992	8	8	74.2
Missouri	1992	8	8	75
Oklahoma	1990	12	12	67.3
Nebraska	2000	n/a	8	56
Louisiana	1995	12	12	76
Nevada	1996	12	12	70.4

Accordingly, there should be two six-year terms for senators and six two-year terms for members of the House of Representatives.  Such twelve-year term limit would be sufficient for Congressional members to deliver their responsibilities but not too long for them to solely serve their local constituents at the expense of national welfare, establish an exclusive cult with interest groups, and crowd out new challengers.  At the same time, Congressional tenure should not be too short that it restricts politicians' political voice.  The intention of term limits is to optimize politicians' concentration on their civic duty by eliminating the pressure of reelection and excuses for delaying work.  Therefore, the more politicians understand the deadline of their service, the better chance they would make commitments to fulfill their responsibilities while in office...

...instead of playing solitaire (8).

After all, Congress is a civic legislature, not a retirement home.


Sources: (1)  http://www.gallup.com/poll/157685/americans-trust-judicial-branch-legislative-least.aspx
              (2) http://www.comprofessor.com/2010/08/anti-anti-incumbency-2010-election-meme.html
              (3) http://www.thedailyaztec.com/2011/10/require-electoral-voting-to-boost-turnout/u-s-voter-turnout-up-slightly-for-midterm-election
              (4) http://dignitas.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341f704253ef0120a6e74025970b-800wi

              (5) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIV2Y_0Mm0DmdoQrJsrz5oOcUKwMwGGxP2yheAbwvqoWKnEGnHbK9tNFJd03DtJKNiT24E-oUHGAhq6-uNzkMrOrHlvZcXDQpyzrgTHfWWDpI9nsRdq4JOvX7UlFyZBVQgvSM00-NAnj_/s400/Cartoon-Insurance-Lobby1.jpg
              (6) http://www.oyez.org/cases/1990-1999/1994/1994_93_1456
              (7) http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/legisdata/chart-of-term-limits-states.aspx
              (8) http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2009/09/connecticut-budget-solitaire-photo.html