The Tennessee Senate State & Local Government Committee passed House Joint Resolution 5, which proposes a congressional term limits amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The effort, led by Senator Richard Briggs and spearheaded by the nonpartisan nonprofit U.S. Term Limits, passed with seven yeas and two nays.
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.”
Tennessee State Chair for U.S. Term Limits, Mayor Glenn Jacobs, said, "I want to thank the Senate committee for bringing this resolution forward and getting us one step closer to instituting congressional term limits. Staying in office for decades has caused some of our elected officials in Washington to forget that they serve the voters, not entrenched special interests. Congressional term limits will take power away from the Washington insiders and lobbyists, and return it to where it belongs – to We The People."
According to the most recent poll conducted by RMG Research, 78 percent of likely voters in Tennessee support term limits on Congress, including strong 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.
HJR5 has already passed in the house so once the measure passes on the senate floor, 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.