Huelsman 1

John Cody Huelsman

Lisa Tyler
ENG 1201
4 September, 2016
Does Congress Need Term Limits?
I have found myself asking the above question a great deal in the last five years or so of
my life. It seems the older I get, the more I care about politics. I have some old fashioned ideas,
and I believe in a limited federal government by all means. One thing that has bothered me since
the day I discovered it is the fact that our members of congress, our Senate and house
representatives, have no limit on the number of terms they can serve. I believe more restriction
on federal representation is beneficial to the people and is an American guiding principle.
I care and worry about the future of this country and its politics for the sake of my son.
We don't think about it in this way but every day we are making decisions on behalf of future
generations that will inherit this country. I believe that any type of elected office, especially on a
federal level, should have term restrictions imposed on that elected position. When
representatives are able to serve an unlimited number of terms I think it leaves much room for
corruption and conflict of interest. These are people who we are paying a salary and retirement to
represent us, and we should be doing everything possible to put checks and balances in place.
I feel strongly on this topic that the American people should demand amendments to the
constitution for this. I feel that Americans have in some ways been taken advantage of or slightly
betrayed by their representatives because this is an issue that has not been prominent and our
elected representatives have failed to make these changes themselves. In the mid 1990s there was
a movement and legislation to amend limits of two terms for both house and Senate
representatives, but it was not passed and that makes me feel disappointed to know that.

Huelsman 2
I think that in general, holding long seats in any form of government will ultimately lead
to motivation for personal gain, and corruption of all sorts. When I say corruption I mean all
encompassing, as in even very small acts of conflict of interest or use of power for any kind of
personal gain. I think that politics have evolved a great deal since the drafting of the constitution
and many amendments have been made to account for that, this is one that should join the list.
I believe that elected politicians especially federal ones hold a great responsibility to
the people they serve. I believe that the modern blurred sense that we have some sort of contract
with the government is completely backwards and they, in fact, have a contract with us. When
this country was young, politicians were elected to serve the people for a short period of time, as
a duty to their country, and then go back to their everyday life with their career or trade. I don't
believe elected seats were meant to become careers, and I believe that the idea of a career
politician is not good for the people.
I am not a political expert by any means, and I admittedly don't have a wealth of
knowledge on how government works, but what I do know is this: Congress is comprised of the
house of representatives for each state, and the Senate representatives for each state in two
separate houses. There are 100 Senate seats (2 for each state) and 435 seats in the house of
representatives (the number for each state depending on the size/population of the state).
Senators serve six-year terms and are up for re-election in a staggered fashion across even years.
Members of the house of representatives serve two-year terms and are up for re-election every
even year. The majority party has significant power in the house, but the Senate is more
balanced. Legislation must pass through both houses and be signed by the president to become a
law.

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I hope to learn more about the political process regarding the house and Senate while
researching for this paper. I would like discover more about how laws and amendments are
passed, the election process for these politicians. I need to learn if there is any known obvious
benefit to limiting terms and more detail about past times such amendments have been attempted
along with why and how they were not passed. I want to know the average number of terms
members of both house serve and more statistical data on things of that nature.