• Section 1: No person may serve more than twelve years as a member of Congress, whether such service is exclusively in the House or the Senate or combined in both chambers.  
• Section 2: Upon ratification of this article, any incumbent member of Congress whose term exceeds the twelve year limit shall complete the current term, but thereafter shall be ineligible for further service as a member of Congress.

When George Washington served as the 1st President of the United States, he served two consecutive terms for a total of eight years (1789-1797). He set a precedent for future Presidents to follow, and this informal expectation existed for the next 136 years (1797-1933) until Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). As the 32nd President, FDR was successfully elected four consecutive times, and he would have served 16 total years if he did not die within three months (i.e., April 1945) into his fourth term. Within six years of his death on February 27, 1951, the 22nd Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution placing term limits on the Presidency.1 Essentially, the President can serve no more than two elected terms, and it is a reflection of the original precedent established by George Washington. 

One of the core functions of the U.S. Constitution is to limit power, and there are critical circumstances in U.S. History when amendments are necessary to specify limits on power such as the 22nd Amendment. The length of time in an elected position is equivalent to power, and the more time a person serves in an elected position means more power. There is now a critical circumstance where an amendment is necessary to specify limits on power for members of the United States Congress. Like the Presidency, this critical circumstance evolved over the course of time and history. 

Originally, the Founding Fathers believed in term limits for delegates elected to the Continental Congress. Under the Articles of Confederation, it states “no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six years.”2 The core idea is that elected officials served in Congress for a short time as part of their duty as citizens, and they were not expected to be career politicians. Essentially, this same attitude did exist even during the Constitutional Convention in 1787, but the language in Article I of the U.S. Constitution did not specify term limits for the Legislative Branch like Article II did not originally specify term limits for the Executive Branch. The following three charts depict the service time by members of Congress as it evolved over the course of history. In general, it appears members of Congress served for periods of time that reflected the Founding Fathers’ original intent until the mid-20th century. Since the 1950s, the trend appears to be “more career politicians.”3 

In the House of Representatives, the percentage of members who sought re-election ranged 85-93% during the 1950s to present day, and the success rate ranged 88-97% during the 1950s to present day.4 These two factors and their high rates are also significant indicators of the pattern of career politicians that currently exist. However, the vast majority of the American population does not think they deserve re-election, and this has been the trend for the last 15 years.5 

In general, the American population thinks the federal government has too much power, and there is a lack of balance of power (“right amount”). This has been the trend for approximately 20 years.6 Ideally, a good view on a balance of power (“right amount”) is 60% or better. 

In addition, there is a lack of trust by a vast majority of Americans in the legislative branch of the federal government, and it has been the worst branch for approximately the last 15 years.7




Overall, the members of Congress evolved into a body of career politicians over the last 70 years, and this indicates a strong pattern of increasing power for this branch of the federal government. The vast majority of the American population has a poor view of the legislative branch because members of Congress do not deserve re-election, have too much power, or are not trustworthy. Term limits for members of Congress will address these issues. A service of no more than 12 years is the right length of time to enable continuity of government for elected members Congress, and it is the right length of time to limit power. In other words, 12 years of service time is the right balance, and an end result will be more faith in Congress by the American population. 

George Washington stated: “If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates.”8 Today, this condition exists for an amendment for term limits for members of Congress. 


Likewise, Abraham Lincoln stated: “This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember, or overthrow it. I cannot be ignorant of the fact that many worthy, and patriotic citizens are desirous of having the national amendments, I fully recognize the rightful authority of the people over the whole subject…In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. You have no conflict, without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to ‘preserve, protect, and defend’ it.”9 Before the outbreak of the Civil War, President Lincoln understood there were two ways angry Americans could change their government: amend it or overthrow it. He preferred to amend it, and the critical issue of slavery was the division facing the nation. Even though the Civil War broke out, Lincoln viewed the passage of a constitutional amendment eradicating slavery once and for all was “a King’s cure for all the evils.”10 In other words, it took the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to heal the nation. 

Thus, the American nation can learn from George Washington as the Father of the United States and Abraham Lincoln as the Savior of the United States in order to resolve grave issues and heal the country.11 The need to amend the U.S. Constitution by setting term limits for members of Congress is such a case, and it is the most important amendment to add in modern day U.S. History. 

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Footnotes:
1 Note: FDR is ranked #3 of 44 Presidents by historians (see https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2021/). In general, the need to set a Presidential term limit originated even in the case of a very favorable ranking as FDR. 
2 See 2nd Paragraph of Article V in the Articles of Confederation adopted on July 9, 1778: “No State shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor by more than seven, members; and no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six years; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under the United States, for which he, or another for his benefit, receives any salary, fees, or emolument of any kind.” Note: the Founding Fathers also did not believe in paying delegates of the Continental Congress. 
3 Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2023. Updated January 17, 2023. Congressional Research Service (CRS) report at https://crsreports.congress.gov/R41545,
pages 3,10-11 (Figures 1, 4-5 respectively). Note: the CRS is a nonpartisan shared staff that serves committees and members of Congress. Any CRS report may be reproduced, distributed, or used in its entirety without permission of the CRS. It is an unbiased report available to the public.
4 Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2023. Updated January 17, 2023. Congressional Research Service (CRS) report at https://crsreports.congress.gov/R41545, pages 5-6. 
5 Gallup Poll: https://news.gallup.com/poll/394685/voters-eagerness-reelect-incumbents-near-lows.aspx. Note: begs the question in how members of Congress get re-elected.
6 Gallup Poll: https://news.gallup.com/poll/403124/majority-continues-say-government-powerful.aspx 
7 Gallup Poll: https://news.gallup.com/poll/402737/trust-federal-government-branches-continues-falter.aspx 
8 Farewell Address, paragraph 25, September 1796. 
9 Lincoln’s 1st Presidential Inauguration Address, March 4, 1861. Note: this was one month before first shots were fired at the onset of the Civil War at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. 
10 Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Simon and Schuster: 2005, page 686. 
11 Note: other potential amendments may fall under this same idea.