U.S. Term Limits (USTL), the leader in the national, non-partisan movement to limit terms for elected officials, is gathering support from state lawmakers across the nation.
Its mission is to get 34 states to apply for an amendment proposal convention specific to term limits on Congress. Mississippi Senator Russell Jolly (district 08) has committed support for term limits on Congress by signing the Term Limits Convention pledge. Previously, state senate candidate Kegan Coleman, also signed the pledge.
Russell Jolly
USTL President, Philip Blumel, commented on their pledges saying, “Jolly’s and Coleman’s support of term limits shows that there are individuals who are willing to listen to the majority of voters who want term limits. America needs a Congress that will be served by citizen legislators, not career politicians.”
In the 1995 case, Thornton v. U.S. Term Limits, the Supreme Court of the United States opined that only a Constitutional Amendment could limit the terms of U.S. Senators and House Representatives. According to Nick Tomboulides, Executive Director of USTL, the best chance of imposing term limits on Congress is through an Article V Proposal Convention of state legislatures.
“The Constitution allows for amendments to be proposed by either 2/3 of Congress or 2/3 of the states. While we’d like for Congress to take the high road and propose term limits on itself, our goal is to trigger the latter, a national convention specifically for a term limits amendment,” claims Tomboulides. Once proposed, the amendment must be ratified by 38 states.
Blumel noted, “More than 82% of Americans have rejected the career politician model and want to replace it with citizen leadership. The way to achieve that goal is through a congressional term limits amendment. Jolly and Coleman know this and are willing to work to make sure we reach our goal.”
According to a 2018 poll on term limits conducted by McLaughlin & Associates, term limits enjoys 82% support among all voters.