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To view this on the COS website, click here [[https://conventionofstates.com/news/lobbyists-staff-and-term-limits|lobbyists-staff-and-term-limits]]


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====== Lobbyists, Staff, and Term Limits ======


Membership in Congress requires self-sacrifice in service to the public, not self-service at the expense of the public.


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|A common objection to the notion of term limits for members of the United States Congress -- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L0ejBw4sVA|an objection that was raised by a Maryland state senator during a hearing on March 14]] -- is that taking longtime members of Congress out of the Capitol would leave the crafting of legislation to staffers and lobbyists.\\ \\ Arguing that longtime members of Congress are more skilled and adept at working the machinery of government than newcomers is correct insofar as the former are more skilled and adept at manipulating the machinery of government in their favor, and/or in the favor of interest groups to whom they have become beholden over the years.\\ \\ That argument also assumes that individuals who have never served in Congress are unfamiliar with the legislative procedure, debate, and policy. If congressional seats were no longer the province of the entrenched career politicians who rely on name recognition and inherent fundraising advantages to win ceaseless re-election, would not members of state legislatures and city councils seek open seats?\\ \\ Yet waive all that. The premise that the absence of term limits prevents a government by staffers and lobbyists is flawed. It is flawed because we already have a Congress that is run by staffers and lobbyists.\\ \\ The gargantuan omnibus bills and other pieces of legislation that make //War and Peace //seem like a pamphlet are not the yield of sage and experienced members of Congress who have pored over policy papers and consulted the Library of Congress for the guidance and precedent of their predecessors before casting their votes.\\ \\ These unreadable and often unintelligible bills are cobbled together by congressional staff, committee counsel, and interest groups who have "donated" millions to the campaigns and PACs of members and those in leadership positions. They are voted upon by members of Congress who have not read them in full because it is impossible to read them in full. \\ \\ As the late Rep. John Conyers, the sixth-longest-serving member of the U.S. House in history, said of such craftsmanship:\\ \\ //"I love these members, they get up and say 'Read the bill.' What good is reading the bill if it's a thousand pages and you don't have two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?"//\\ \\ Even if there were no such "congressional capture" by interest groups and un-elected staffers and lawyers, deferring to the expert wisdom of professional politicians has delivered us a debt that may never be repaid, endless war, social fracture, and corrupt self-enrichment on a massive scale.\\ \\ It is well past time to return to the first principles of the American republic. Among those principles was the concept that participation in government was not a professional calling.\\ \\ Rotation in office was well-observed and respected during the first hundred years or so of the republic. By custom, for instance, a congressman from Illinois named Abraham Lincoln served only a single term in the U.S. House. As he ably demonstrated, rotation in office did not forever ban individuals from public affairs. \\ \\ Term limits would merely place what has become a necessary restraint upon endless federal office-holding, and reaffirm a first principle of republican government: Membership in Congress requires self-sacrifice in service to the public, not self-service at the expense of the public. \\ \\ The last half-century has seen much more of the latter, which is why the popularity of term limits transcends partisan lines. \\ \\ Term limits are a pillar of the Convention of States Action movement. Limiting the terms of service of all government employees -- which would include congressional staff -- is also in play. \\ \\ An Article V convention of states merely advances the conversation and debate that our Republic must have concerning the limits of federal power and the influence of professional officeholders who are well past their expiration date.\\ \\ To join the quest to retire career politicians from the scene, [[https://conventionofstates.com/|sign the COS petition and volunteer]].|
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|  __Page Metadata__  ||
|Login Required to view?  |No                  |
|Created:                 |2023-03-15 17:54 GMT|
|Updated:                 |2023-03-23 07:00 GMT|
|Published:               |2023-03-16 04:00 GMT|
|Converted:               |2025-11-11 12:01 GMT|
|Change Author:           |Matt May            |
|Credit Author:           |                    |