Necessary to establish congressional term limits. Term Paper

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It is Necessary to Establish Congressional Term Limits
Currently, the Congress in the United States (U.S.) has no term limits since they are allowed by law to serve in office for as many terms as they want. There have been several attempts to establish congressional term limits which date back to the 90’s where at least 23 states enacted congressional limits, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the move (Dewhirst and Rausch, p.84). These authors add that during that time, the public still supported the move to instill congressional term limits, albeit the Supreme Court’s ruling, an indication that a similar move can be supported in the future. Recently, there have been talks on the need for congressional term limits, and President Trump gave his support to a group of lawmakers who have already created a plan that will ensure members of Congress serve for a limited number of years, specifically a maximum of 12 years for both chambers (Zanona). However, this move has received mixed reactions from the public and lawmakers with some supporting and others condemning the move.
On the one hand, proponents of the term limits opine that limiting the number of terms will ensure that the Congress is accountable and more effective. On the other hand, opponents of the term limits opine that limiting the number of terms will deny voters their power to elect the leaders of their choosing. This paper discusses various reasons why establishing congressional term limits is a necessary move while at the same time pointing out why those against it are wrong.
First, congressional term limits will be beneficial in reducing corruption cases among the members of the Congress. Sometimes, office holders are forced to support a policy that does not sit well with them or with their constituents in exchange of support, financial or otherwise, when seeking their re-election to office, as noted by Buckley. However, imposing congressional term limits can address this issue because a candidate will only be in office for a limited time, making it hard for people or groups with personal interests to corrupt members of the Congress. Further, as a result of high competition among candidates, it is likely that opposing candidates can be able to expose any favors or gifts given to the other candidate in exchange for a future favor once the candidate is in office, as opined by Buckley. Having congressional term limits will limit the pressures that elected members of the Congress face because they want to increase their time in office. Buckley indicates that such pressures increase corruption among the members of Congress because they understand their survival in office is dependent on their supporters.
Second, congressional term limits will enhance leadership and ensure that voters get an opportunity to be served by the best candidates from a pool of potential candidates. As noted by Caress and Kunioka, congressional term limits will increase turnover among members of the Congress. As such, more candidates will be vying for elections as often as the term limits allow, thus increasing the pool of potential candidates. Since most of the candidates are usually qualified regarding educa...