The House Public Service Subcommittee 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 vote of 5 to 1.
U.S. Term Limits' President Philip Blumel said, “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.”
HJR5 said it 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.
If the measure passes the state Senate, 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, the group said.
Once 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.