Should Congress Have Term Limits Essay

According to Govtrack.us, Congress has shut down 28, 537 bills related to term limits dating back to 1973. This does not come as a surprise because those who hold power are very reluctant to relinquish that power. Congress has become extremely alienated from the people. What once was supposed to be known as the people’s Congress has turned into chambers filled with career politicians. A Congress filled with politicians who focus on campaigning and are more concerned with politics instead of policy. Turnover is essential to making sure Congress is representing the views of Americans and term limits ensure that those members are held accountable for the promises they make during campaigning. The Framers did not intend for members of Congress to make their positions in office permanent. The Congress should belong to the people instead of party machines who control it. Citizens are allowed to elect members of Congress, however once they are elected into office, party machines make it difficult to remove these officials. America needs a Congress that is representative and responsive, however as …show more content…
Currently, those in office are only concerned with staying in office as opposed to passing legislation for the good of the American people. A perk of having term limits is that members of Congress are not preoccupied with re-election and are able to focus on more important issues. The lack of term limits in Congress has lead to an increase in pork- barrel spending and a greater focus on special interests. These interests are not for the greater good of the country and solely reflect the guarantee of staying in office for that official. Therefore, if all members of Congress are only concerned with their selfish interests, then they are less concerned about actual legislation that benefits Americans. Thus, demonstrating that the lack of term limits does not lead to greater representation of the