Legislation seeks to bring term limits to Congress

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The State House passed legislation that calls for a convention of the states.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., finishes the vote to approve the Inflation Reduction Act in the House chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. A divided Congress gave final approval Friday to Democrats’ flagship climate and health care bill. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

House Joint Resolution 0005 calls for a convention to propose an amendment to the US Constitution that would set a limit on how many terms a person can be elected to the US House of Representatives and and US Senate.

Supporters of the resolution say this is needed to keep politicians from making a life-long carrier of serving in Congress, while others disagree.

“Why would we not take an opportunity to use an Article 5 Convention, taking advantage of the power we’re given by the founders as states to put a check on the federal government,” said Rep. Jason Zachary, of Knoxville.

“I think it’s a little hypocritical to put this off on federal government, and we serve longer terms. I could not support this,” said Rep. Johnny Shaw, of Bolivar.

The resolution passed the House 66 to 27, and will now make it’s way to the Senate.

If passed by the Senate, Tennessee will become one of several states applying for a states-only convention to propose term limits on Congress.

To become a part of the US Constitution, the term limits amendment must be approved by 38 states after being proposed by 34 state legislatures.

The resolution was proposed by Rep. Chris Todd, of Madison County.

You can find more news from across the state here.