Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Florida Government & Politics

Francis Rooney, Marco Rubio Work With Ted Cruz in Pushing Congressional Term Limits Amendment

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla., brought out an amendment to limit congressional terms in which senators would be able to serve two six-year terms while members of the House would be able to serve three two-year terms. 

Share Story Via Text, E-Mail, Facebook or Twitter

With a new Congress in place, two Florida Republicans are leading the charge to pass a constitutional amendment to enact congressional term limits.

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla., brought out an amendment to limit congressional terms. Senators would be able to serve two six-year terms while members of the House would be able to serve three two-year terms.

While they were rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is backing Cruz’s resolution as a cosponsor.

On Friday, Cruz and Rooney weighed in on why they had introduced the amendment.

“For too long, members of Congress have abused their power and ignored the will of the American people,” Cruz said. “Term limits on members of Congress offer a solution to the brokenness we see in Washington, D.C. It is long past time for Congress to hold itself accountable. I urge my colleagues to submit this constitutional amendment to the states for speedy ratification.”

“The American people support term limits by an overwhelming margin. I believe that as lawmakers, we should follow the example of our founding fathers, Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who refused to consider public service as a career. Our history is replete with examples of leaders who served their country for a time and returned to private life, or who went on to serve in a different way,” Rooney said,

Besides Rubio, Cruz was able to round up Republican U.S. Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and David Perdue of Georgia to sponsor the amendment.

While he is starting his second term in Congress, this is not a new issue for Rooney. Last year, he brought out “Thomas Jefferson Public Service Act” which would cut congressional salaries after six terms in the U.S. House and two terms in the U.S. Senate. That bill would have “set the annual rate of compensation for a member of Congress who has served six consecutive terms as a member of the House of Representatives or two consecutive terms as a senator at $1, to amend title 5, United States Code, to exclude any service of a member of Congress occurring during any pay period for which the member’s annual rate of compensation is $1 as creditable service for purposes of an annuity under that title, and for other purposes.”

 

Kevin Derby can be reached at Kevin.Derby@floridadaily.com

Author

  • Kevin Derby

    Originally from Jacksonville, Kevin Derby is a contributing writer for Florida Daily and covers politics across Florida.

    View all posts
Share Story Via Text, E-Mail, Facebook or Twitter

Follow Us on Social Media

Related Stories

Political News

Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio sent a letter to U.S. Department of Human Health Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra requesting the use of...

Trending News

Hurricanes Helene and Milton brought high winds, flooding, and damage across Florida. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services estimates the total crop...

Political News

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), U.S. Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and members of the Florida delegation sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting...

Political News

Florida’s U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging his immediate approval of the State of Florida’s...

Florida Government & Politics

As communities across Florida’s Gulf Coast recover from Hurricane Helene, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Rick Scott are meeting with...

Florida News

The Office of the Surgeon General announced a public advisory warning of alarmingly high levels of parental stress. The advisory and the Surgeon General’s accompanying op-ed, offered a...

Florida News

Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R), who serves as Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, joined Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ranking Member of...

Healthcare

Florida Senator Rick Scott (R) joined fellow Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R, Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and 17 of their colleagues in urging Department...