With a new Congress on Capitol Hill, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, continues to get the support of Florida Republicans in his effort to pass a constitutional amendment to enact congressional term limits.
On Monday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, brought back a proposed 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.
“Every year, Congress spends billions of dollars on giveaways for the well-connected: Washington insiders get taxpayer money and members of Congress get re-elected, all while the system fails the American people. It’s no wonder that the vast majority of Americans from every political stripe – Republicans, Democrats and independents – overwhelmingly support congressional term limits,” Cruz said on Monday.
“The rise of political careerism in today’s Congress is a sharp departure from what the Founders intended for our federal governing bodies. I have long called for this solution for the brokenness of Washington, D.C., and I will continue fighting to hold career politicians accountable. As I have done in the past, I urge my colleagues to submit this constitutional amendment to the states for speedy ratification,” Cruz added.
In 2017, then U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., now governor of the Sunshine State, was Cruz’s main ally in the U.S. House on the proposed amendment. Two years ago, Cruz turned to then U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla., to pass the amendment.
This time out, Cruz has the support of U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., who are both co-sponsoring the proposal. Other backers include Republican U.S. Sens. Mike Braun and Todd Young of Indiana and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. Both of Florida’s senators have championed congressional term limits in recent years.
“Washington is more dysfunctional than ever, and I’m fighting every day to make reforms in the best interest of American families. Career politicians are never going to make the tough choices needed to get our nation on a successful path. They care more about politics and their next election than the future of this country. That has to end now. We need to reimagine government and term limits are the right place to start,” Scott said on Monday.
Kevin Derby can be reached at Kevin.Derby@floridadaily.com.
