Argumentative Essay on Term Limits of Members of the US Congress

Introduction

The US Congress is the legislative arm of the government and one of the most critical institutions. It is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Senate is consists of 100 senators while US House of Representatives has 435 members (Cushman, 2014). US senators serve unlimited six-year terms while house representatives serve unlimited two-year terms (Cushman, 2014). It implies that a member of the Congress can serve for life provided he or she is elected by voters in the respective state. There have been calls to introduce term limits for members of the Senate and House of Representatives. These calls intensified when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt won elections for his third consecutive term in 1940 (Korzi, 2013). The US Congress passed the 22nd Amendment in 1947 to limit the president's terms to two four-year terms. The states ratified this amendment in 1951 (Korzi, 2013). Contrary to the arguments of proponents of congressional term limits, there is sufficient evidence that term limits would do more harm than good to the country.

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Arguments for Congressional Term Limits

Proponents argue that term limits will reduce corruption and abuse of power by the representatives. Interest groups, including organizations and individuals, primarily fund political campaigns in every election. Members protect the interests of their funders during legislation, among other functions. For instance, the National Rifle Association (NRA) supports the political campaigns of conservative candidates who protect their interests by ensuring that no legislation interferes with the Second Amendment since strict gun laws would affect the NRA's business. Politicians serving their last terms are less likely to be influenced by lobbyists and more likely to focus on the interest on the country.

Besides, term limits can reduce the undue influence political parties and other interest groups have on candidates. A member of the Congress should put the interest if the country first. In some cases, senators or house representatives may take positions that are not in the best interest of the nation just to get reelected. For instance, President Trump has become a popular Republican figure, and most Republican incumbents are avoiding taking contrary positions to that of the President. When the news broke that Trump is planning to fire Robert Mueller, he has been warned against this action by several members. However, none of the Republican senators whose seats are open in the midterm elections has spoken against this plan (Olorunnipa & Dennis, 2018). They are more concerned about getting reelected than doing what is right for the nation. If they were not worried about retaining their seats, they would not be reluctant to speak against the executive and lobbyists without the fear of political risks.

Term limits can also help bring new ideas which improve the efficiency of management of the Union. If there are term limits, new candidates will have an opportunity to be elected and contribute new perspectives to the Congress. Some members have served for several terms, and you wonder what new ideas they bring. Besides, new members can bring change and help remove Washington's old bureaucracies that have left many voters frustrated. According to a Gallup Poll in August 2017, even Republicans now disapprove of the Congress. Republicans' approval of the Congress dropped to 16% in August from 28% in July 2017 (McCarthy, 2017). Term limits could help improve the confidence of Americans in the Congress.

According to Birkhead, Uriarte & Bianco (2010), term limits will improve the competitiveness of congressional elections. Incumbents have the upper hand in winning congressional polls that new candidates. It is difficult to compete with and dislodge a long-serving member especially during political primaries (Birkhead, Uriarte & Bianco, 2010). Elections are supposed to solve the issue of term limits. Most opponents argue that the fact that congressional positions are open for election is in itself a term limit. Elections have not been effective in bringing new members to the Capitol Hill considering the high incumbency rates. In the 2016 midterm elections, 95% of the House Representatives and 87% of the Senators who viewed for reelection retained their seats (Wilson, DiIulio & Bose, 2018). It indicates that without term limits, non-members have a limited chance of joining the Capitol Hill.

Arguments against Congressional Term Limits

Congressional term limits are unconstitutional. The American constitution prohibits all kinds of discrimination, be it based on age, race, religion, color, or any other condition. A term limit will imply that serving members are discriminated from serving their constituents. Term limits would be undemocratic. In a democracy, nobody should be denied an opportunity to lead. Voters will also be denied their right to choose their preferred candidate if a serving member is barred from reelection.

Opponents also argue term limits are already existing through the elections conducted every two or six years, where each citizen is accorded the right to vie for any seat. A poll is a democratic process, and every member of the public has a chance of getting elected. The political parties in the country are democratic and give every member an opportunity to vie for any position. Even the high-ranking party officials face primaries despite their seniority. A member of the Congress who does not perform will be sent home by the constituents. Voters exercise the term limits through the ballot hence there is no need for actual term limits. A study by Legislative Studies Quarterly, there is no significant difference in the composition of elected leaders in states that have term limits (Carey, Niemi, Powell & Moncrief, 2006). Advocates of term limits argue that it will bring diversity to the Congress. The study indicated that term limits do not affect the type of people elected, including their demographic features as well as ideological inclination (Carey et al., 2006). Instead, term limits shifted power from the legislative branch to the executive branch of government (Carey et al., 2006). It will not be desirable to shift the power from the Congress to the executive through congressional term limits.

Congressional term limits also have adverse effects on fiscal management. Day & Boeckelman (2012) found out that term-limited states were associated with increased spending and flat revenues thus growing state debt. Lewis (2012) studied the effect of term limits on bond ratings and determined that term limits adversely affect the fiscal performance of a state. Term-limited states had lower bond ratings than states without term limits. It indicates that imposing term limits will adversely affect the fiscal performance of the country hence it should be avoided.

Term limits will also reduce congressional capacity. The work of the congress is to legislate and provide oversight to other branches of the government. Career politicians have valuable experience which enables them to perform their legislative and other congressional duties. New members do not have adequate expertise and rely on the work by congressional staff. Therefore, imposing term limits can adversely affect the capacity of the Congress to handle its duties. Besides, it will discourage members from gaining policy expertise. A member would not invest his or her time in acquiring more expertise knowing that he or she will be at the Congress for only a few years. This will, in turn, leads to more influence by the executive and lobbyists.

Conclusion

Every American need a well-functioning and efficient Congress. The bureaucracies and corruption must stop for it to improve its approval by the citizens. Proponents of congressional term limits cite high incumbency rates, corruption and need for fresh ideas. However, evidence shows that congressional term limits will have adverse effects. The term limitation is in itself discriminatory and restricts the right of voters to elect their preferred leaders. It will also limit the capacity of the Congress to handle its duties due to the lack of adequate expertise. Several studies have shown that congressional term limits shift power to the executives thereby leading to poor fiscal performance reflected in lower bond ratings and high debt. Supporters of term limits also argue that elections are not effective as the incumbency rates are very high. The solution to this is not to introduce term restrictions but to reform campaign financing and other election laws to ensure that there is a level playing field for both the incumbents and new candidates. Inexperienced members are more likely to be influenced by lobbyists and the executives thus compromising their independence. While the issues raised by the proponents have legitimate issues, it is evident that term limits will not do much to solve the problems. Instead, it will create more severe problems. Thus, the terms of members of the Congress should not be limited.

References

Birkhead, N., Uriarte, G., & Bianco, W. (2010). The Impact of State Legislative Term Limits on the Competitiveness of Congressional Elections. American Politics Research, 38(5), 842-861. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1532673x09355944

Carey, J., Niemi, R., Powell, L., & Moncrief, G. (2006). The Effects of Term Limits on State Legislatures: A New Survey of the 50 States. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 31(1), 105-134. http://dx.doi.org/10.3162/036298006x201742

Cushman, C. (2014). An Introduction to the U.S. Congress. Routledge.

Day, J., & Boeckelman, K. (2012). The Impact of Legislative Term Limits on State Debt: Increased Spending, Flat Revenue. Politics & Policy, 40(2), 320-338. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2012.00347.x

Korzi, M. (2013). Presidential Term Limits in American History. Texas A & M University Press.

Lewis, D. (2012). Legislative Term Limits and Fiscal Policy Performance. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 37(3), 305-328. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-9162.2012.00049.x

McCarthy, J. (2017). Republicans' Approval of Congress Drops to New 2017 Low. Gallup.com. Retrieved 29 March 2018, from http://news.gallup.com/poll/215630/republicans-approval-congress-drops-new-2017-low.aspx

Olorunnipa, M., & Dennis, M. (2018). Most Republicans Silent in Face of Trump's Attacks on Mueller. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 29 March 2018, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-19/trump-attacks-mueller-s-probe-as-most-republicans-stay-silent

Wilson, J., DiIulio, J., & Bose, M. (2018). American Government: Institutions and Policies. Cengage Learning.