There are four major players on the national board working to add an Amendment to the US Constitution placing Term Limits on the US Congress. They are our PAC, Term Limits for US Congress, U.S. Term Limits, Convention of States Project, and a caucus within the US Congress itself. Each of the four has their strengths and weaknesses.
Two years ago I called a meeting in Harrisonburg, Virginia, inviting members of each to join us to discuss our strengths and weaknesses and how working together will increase the probability of success and reduce the timeline in achieving this monumental goal. All who attended agreed on the need. Unfortunately, Covid put a kink in the plans, delaying the timeline. The good news is things are picking back up.
As a simple overview, these are the strengths and weaknesses of each of the 4.
Convention of States Project:
COS was established by Citizens for Self-Governance, which has very strong Tea Party affiliations. They are well funded and are successful with State Legislators where the GOP holds the majority in both the State House and State Senate.
Their weakness is their including three amendments in their Article 5 Application, one of which is seen by the Democratic Party as partisan, so all votes to date have been a solid party-line divide. Being there are not 34 states in which the GOP holds the majority in both the state house and state senate, the probability of success for COS alone is not very high.
U.S. Term Limits
USTL is a lobbying company that has been lobbying for term limits at all levels for the past 30 years. They have a great deal of experience lobbying and a 30-year-developed business and donor base.
Their weakness is while they have some great folks, they are known as lobbyists, not activists, by both State Legislators and US Congress, with the typical baggage that accompanies lobbyists.
US Congress
The strength of members of Congress supporting Term Limits is their visibility and connections.
Their weakness is with seniority equaling authority in Congress, they have nearly zero probability of success at this time, although the closer we get to an Article 5 Convention for Term Limits, the higher the probability Congress will pass a Term Limits Amendment to avoid the occurrence of the Convention.
Term Limits for US Congress- Political Action Committee
Our strength is we are activists, non-partisan and represent the people without being bound by party-affiliations. We focus a great deal of effort on a Term Limits Petition which will be submitted to the State Legislators when asking they pass the application for the Article 5 Convention for Term Limits.
Our goal of 5 Million signatures would average 100,000 signatures per state. While petitions do not carry much weight at the national level, when you’re dealing with State Legislators, who win or lose their elections by a few thousand votes, and who typically are closer to their constituents than federal positions, 100,000 signatures from their constituents is very powerful.
Our weakness as a volunteer, activist organization is a lack of experience and funding. We are learning and growing, but we to date have been the turtle in the race.
Recognizing the need to work together, our Political Action Committee, being non-partisan and a grassroots activist organization with no political affiliations, we have begun setting up an Advisory Board which will include leadership representation from all four players in addition to a few members with skillsets to well-round the experience and knowledge base.
Now you know who the players on the national board are. We will work together. And, we will add a Term Limits Amendment to the US Constitution.
While Covid restrictions created a hurdle since the original meeting, the engines are revving back up, and the players are hungry for success.
Bob Reid
Founder/Executive Director
Term Limits for US Congress-PAC
Two years ago I called a meeting in Harrisonburg, Virginia, inviting members of each to join us to discuss our strengths and weaknesses and how working together will increase the probability of success and reduce the timeline in achieving this monumental goal. All who attended agreed on the need. Unfortunately, Covid put a kink in the plans, delaying the timeline. The good news is things are picking back up.
As a simple overview, these are the strengths and weaknesses of each of the 4.
Convention of States Project:
COS was established by Citizens for Self-Governance, which has very strong Tea Party affiliations. They are well funded and are successful with State Legislators where the GOP holds the majority in both the State House and State Senate.
Their weakness is their including three amendments in their Article 5 Application, one of which is seen by the Democratic Party as partisan, so all votes to date have been a solid party-line divide. Being there are not 34 states in which the GOP holds the majority in both the state house and state senate, the probability of success for COS alone is not very high.
U.S. Term Limits
USTL is a lobbying company that has been lobbying for term limits at all levels for the past 30 years. They have a great deal of experience lobbying and a 30-year-developed business and donor base.
Their weakness is while they have some great folks, they are known as lobbyists, not activists, by both State Legislators and US Congress, with the typical baggage that accompanies lobbyists.
US Congress
The strength of members of Congress supporting Term Limits is their visibility and connections.
Their weakness is with seniority equaling authority in Congress, they have nearly zero probability of success at this time, although the closer we get to an Article 5 Convention for Term Limits, the higher the probability Congress will pass a Term Limits Amendment to avoid the occurrence of the Convention.
Term Limits for US Congress- Political Action Committee
Our strength is we are activists, non-partisan and represent the people without being bound by party-affiliations. We focus a great deal of effort on a Term Limits Petition which will be submitted to the State Legislators when asking they pass the application for the Article 5 Convention for Term Limits.
Our goal of 5 Million signatures would average 100,000 signatures per state. While petitions do not carry much weight at the national level, when you’re dealing with State Legislators, who win or lose their elections by a few thousand votes, and who typically are closer to their constituents than federal positions, 100,000 signatures from their constituents is very powerful.
Our weakness as a volunteer, activist organization is a lack of experience and funding. We are learning and growing, but we to date have been the turtle in the race.
Recognizing the need to work together, our Political Action Committee, being non-partisan and a grassroots activist organization with no political affiliations, we have begun setting up an Advisory Board which will include leadership representation from all four players in addition to a few members with skillsets to well-round the experience and knowledge base.
Now you know who the players on the national board are. We will work together. And, we will add a Term Limits Amendment to the US Constitution.
While Covid restrictions created a hurdle since the original meeting, the engines are revving back up, and the players are hungry for success.
Bob Reid
Founder/Executive Director
Term Limits for US Congress-PAC
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