Editor’s note: Big Tent Ideas always aims to provide balanced perspectives on the hottest issues of the day. Below you’ll find a column from U.S. Term Limits CEO Nick Tomboulides, which calls for congressional term limits. You can find a counterpoint here from former Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President J.D. Foster, who argues that term limits would be a win for Washington’s entrenched interests.
If you type “Why doesn’t Congress have…” into Google, the site will instantly offer to complete your search with “term limits.”
That says a lot. Americans aren’t asking whether Congress should have term limits. They’re wondering why it still doesn’t.
Polling reinforces what those search results suggest. For more than three decades, surveys have shown overwhelming bipartisan support for congressional term limits. Support consistently reaches levels rarely seen on any public policy issue, according to Pew Research.
Few proposals enjoy such broad agreement across party lines:
Yet term limits are still not the law of the land. What explains this? We know why legislation on issues like taxes, immigration and gun policy often stalls. Those issues divide the public, creating fierce disagreements that make compromise difficult.
Congress’ failure to pass term limits is different. This is not a case of partisan gridlock. The more likely explanation is that members of Congress from both parties have little incentive to support a reform that would limit their own tenure in office.
Unlimited tenure has allowed legislators to build decades-long careers in Washington. In too many cases, it has encouraged politicians to focus more on maintaining visibility, fundraising and securing reelection than on solving long-term national challenges.
For many members of Congress, political survival becomes the primary objective.
A landmark study by professors Martin Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University demonstrated how disconnected many Americans feel from the policymaking process. Looking at two decades of public opinion data, Gilens and Page found that the views of average citizens had a “near-zero, statistically non-significant impact” on the policies Congress ultimately enacted.
They also found that economic elites and organized business interests exerted substantially more influence. In other words, many Americans believe their voices carry far less weight than those of well-funded special interests.
The overwhelming advantage enjoyed by incumbents is a major reason why. Long-serving members of Congress benefit from resources unavailable to challengers. They have widespread name recognition and easier access to media coverage. They can communicate with constituents using taxpayer-funded resources.
Most significantly, according to FollowTheMoney.org, incumbents raise vastly more money from special interest political action committees than their challengers.
Critics of term limits often ask, “Why not simply vote incumbents out?” The answer is that incumbents benefit from significant structural advantages that make defeating them extraordinarily difficult.
In Congress, the political playing field is anything but level.
Members of Congress frequently warn about threats to democracy. Before becoming vice president, then-Sen. J.D. Vance criticized the Democratic presidential nomination process as undemocratic. Sen. Adam Schiff wrote extensively about threats to democratic institutions. Members of both parties routinely question whether powerful corporations and technology companies are undermining public trust.
Yet one of the least competitive aspects of American democracy is congressional elections themselves. According to Ballotpedia, roughly 90% of congressional incumbents run either unopposed or face only token opposition. Approximately 95 percent win reelection. Congress experiences remarkably low turnover compared with many other democratic institutions around the world.
Congressional term limits would help revitalize elections and restore competition. At its core, term limits create regular open-seat elections. When an incumbent is no longer occupying a seat, qualified candidates are more likely to enter the race.
Voters are presented with new voices, new ideas and meaningful choices. No candidate enjoys the overwhelming built-in advantages that come with decades in office.
Term limits would also encourage greater accountability. Under a term-limited system, no member could spend a lifetime accumulating political power.
Representatives would know that their time in office is finite, creating stronger incentives to remain responsive to the people they serve.
Over the years, opponents of term limits have argued that limiting tenure would deprive Congress of valuable experience. It is true that Congress collectively possesses thousands of years of political experience.
Yet experience alone has not solved many of the challenges Americans continue to face. The national debt now nearly exceeds $40 trillion. Public trust in government remains near historic lows. Congress regularly struggles to complete even its most basic responsibilities.
If anything, Washington could benefit from more real-world experience and less career politics. Term limits would create opportunities for accomplished professionals, entrepreneurs, military veterans, educators and community leaders to serve for a period of time and then return to their careers and communities.
Under the current system, many talented individuals never consider running because they do not want to spend decades climbing a seniority ladder in Washington. A system built around public service rather than political careers would attract a broader range of candidates.
Americans have spoken clearly and consistently for more than three decades. They support congressional term limits by overwhelming margins. They want a Congress defined by service, accountability and regular opportunities for new leadership.
If Washington is serious about restoring trust in our institutions, there is no better place to begin than congressional term limits.
Nick Tomboulides serves as CEO of U.S. Term Limits. Under his leadership, USTL launched the Term Limits Convention, a campaign to obtain a congressional term limits amendment via the state-directed convention.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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