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How much faith do Americans have in Congress? The answer should concern every Pennsylvanian, regardless of political party.
According to a recent Gallup survey, only 9% of Americans say they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress--the lowest level ever recorded. When the institution closest to the people commands the trust of fewer than one in ten Americans, it is a clear sign that something is fundamentally broken.
Washington has become a place where too many politicians spend decades building careers instead of solving problems. The result is predictable: endless partisan gridlock, mounting national debt, and an electorate that increasingly believes Congress is more interested in protecting incumbents than serving the public.
The first step toward restoring confidence in Congress is also one of the simplest and most popular: congressional term limits.
This is not a Republican idea or a Democratic idea. It is an American idea. Poll after poll has shown overwhelming bipartisan support for limiting the number of years members of Congress can serve. Americans understand what career politicians often refuse to acknowledge -- that public service was never intended to become a lifetime occupation.
Our Founding Fathers were deeply skeptical of concentrated political power. While they did not include congressional term limits in the Constitution, they expected elected officials to serve for a time and then return home to live under the very laws they had enacted.
Today's Congress looks very different.
Some members have spent 30, 40, or even 50 years in Washington. Senator Chuck Grassley has served in Congress since 1975. Senator Mitch McConnell has served in the Senate since 1985. Representative Hal Rogers has represented Kentucky in the House since 1981. Representative Chris Smith of New Jersey has served since 1981. These individuals have each dedicated decades to public service, but no elected office should become a permanent career. Fresh perspectives and new leadership are essential ingredients of representative government.
The problem isn't any one individual. The problem is a system that rewards longevity over accountability.
Long-serving incumbents accumulate enormous fundraising advantages, political influence, and institutional power that make meaningful competition increasingly difficult. Elections become less about ideas and more about protecting the status quo. That isn't healthy for democracy, regardless of which party holds power.
Congressional term limits would not solve every problem facing Washington. They won't eliminate political disagreements or instantly balance the federal budget. But they would encourage fresh thinking, reduce the incentive to spend decades climbing the congressional leadership ladder, and remind elected officials that they are temporary stewards--not permanent owners--of public office.
Pennsylvania has an opportunity to help make that happen.
Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, states have the authority to call for a convention to propose constitutional amendments. If two-thirds of the states apply for a convention on the same subject, Congress must call one. Any amendment proposed would still require ratification by 38 states before becoming part of the Constitution, ensuring broad national consensus.
The Pennsylvania General Assembly should pass a resolution calling for an Article V convention limited exclusively to proposing congressional term limits. Such a convention could consider no other topic. The scope is limited by the applications submitted by the states and by the fact that any proposed amendment still must clear the extraordinarily high hurdle of ratification by three-fourths of the states.
Pennsylvania has long been at the center of America's constitutional history. Our Commonwealth was home to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Independence Hall in Philadelphia is where the framework of our republic was created. It is fitting that Pennsylvania should once again lead in strengthening our representative government.
Restoring public trust in Congress will require many reforms, but congressional term limits are the logical place to begin. They are supported by voters across the political spectrum, they would encourage citizen legislators instead of career politicians, and they would send a powerful message that no one is entitled to hold public office indefinitely.
With public confidence in Congress at a historic low, doing nothing is no longer an acceptable option.