The Tennessee House State Government Committee has passed House Joint Resolution 5 (HJR5), a resolution calling for the states to propose a congressional term limits amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The effort, led by Rep. Chris Todd and spearheaded by the nonpartisan nonprofit U.S. Term Limits, passed by a voice vote.
The resolution is expected to be scheduled for a vote of the full House of Representatives next week.
As U.S. Term Limits' President Philip Blumel put it, “The people of Tennessee are lucky to have public servants who see what is going on in D.C. and are willing to take action to fix it. They know that Congress won't set term limits on itself. Therefore, it is the obligation of the states to do so.”
According to the most recent poll conducted by RMG Research, 78 percent of likely voters in Tennessee support term limits on Congress, including support across party lines. Seventy-seven percent of Republicans, 90 percent of Democrats, and 71 percent of independents back this election reform.
HJR5 has the bipartisan support of more than 60 Tennessee legislators who have signed the term limits pledge, promising to support the congressional term limits effort. Once the measure passes both chambers, Tennessee will be in the forefront of the states in the nation to file an application for a convention with the exclusive purpose of proposing term limits on the U.S. Congress.
After 34 state legislatures pass similar resolutions on the topic, and the term limits amendment approved, it must be ratified by 38 states to become part of the U.S. Constitution.