Mesa, Arizona - U.S. Term Limits (USTL), the leader in the national movement to limit terms for elected officials, is currently gathering support from state lawmakers across the nation. Its mission is to get 34 states to apply for an amendment proposal convention specifically to enact term limits on Congress. Arizona Corporation Commission Chair and candidate for Arizona State Treasurer, Tom Forese, has signed the Article V Term Limits Convention Pledge. He joins the growing number of candidates and lawmakers in Arizona, and nationwide, who have made the commitment to term limit federal lawmakers.
USTL President, Philip Blumel, commented on Forese's pledge, saying, “Tom's support of term limits shows that there are elected officials who are willing to listen to the majority of voters who want term limits. America needs a Congress that will be served by citizen legislators, not career politicians.”
The U.S. Term Limits Amendment Pledge is provided to candidates and elected officials. It reads, “I pledge that as a statewide elected official, I will support a resolution applying for an Article V convention for the limited purpose of enacting term limits on Congress.”
In the 1995 case, Thornton v. U.S. Term Limits, the Supreme Court of the United States opined that only a Constitutional Amendment could limit the terms of U.S. Senators and House Representatives. According to Nick Tomboulides, Executive Director of USTL, the best chance of imposing term limits on congress is through an Article V Proposal Convention of state legislatures. “The Constitution allows for amendments to be proposed by either ¾ of Congress or ¾ of the states. While we’d like for Congress to impose limits on itself, our goal is to trigger the latter, a term limits convention,” claims Tomboulides. “That is why it is important to get buy-in from state legislators and elected officials,” he added. Once proposed, the amendment must be ratified by 38 states.
Blumel noted, “More than 82% of Americans have rejected the career politician model and want to replace it with citizen leadership. The way to achieve that goal is through a congressional term limits amendment. Forese knows this and is willing to work to make sure we reach our goal.”
According to the last nationwide poll on term limits conducted by McLaughlin & Associates, conducted in January 2018, term limits enjoys wide bipartisan support. McLaughlin’s analysis states, “Support for term limits is broad and strong across all political, geographic and demographic groups. An overwhelming 82% of voters approve of a Constitutional Amendment that will place term limits on members of Congress.”