Federal

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the number of consecutive terms that a Member of Congress may serve.

Source: Congress.gov · 446 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill proposes a constitutional amendment (a change to the U.S. Constitution) that would limit how long members of Congress can serve in consecutive terms. The amendment becomes part of the Constitution only if approved by two-thirds of both the Senate and House, and then ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures within seven years.

Who It Affects

U.S. Senators and Representatives (members of Congress)

Key Provisions

• Senators cannot serve more than two consecutive terms before they must take a break. After serving two consecutive terms, a senator must wait until at least the second Congress that begins after their second term ends before running again (Sec. 1) • Representatives cannot serve more than six consecutive terms before they must take a break. After serving six consecutive terms, a representative must wait until at least the second Congress that begins after their sixth term ends before running again (Sec. 2) • Time served filling a vacant seat (when a member leaves office early and someone is appointed to finish their term) does not count toward term limits unless the person serves more than three years as a Senator or more than one year as a Representative (Sec. 3) • Terms that began before this amendment is approved do not count toward the new term limits (Sec. 4)

What Changes

Members of Congress would face limits on how many consecutive terms they can serve.

Important Definitions

None defined in bill text

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

IA 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 32 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the number of consecutive terms that a Member of Congress may serve. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 9, 2023 Ms. TENNEY submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the number of consecutive terms that a Member of Congress may serve. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 1 of the United States of America in Congress assembled 2 (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the fol- 3 lowing article is proposed as an amendment to the Con- 4 stitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all 5 intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when 6 ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several 7 States within seven years after the date of its submission 8 for ratification: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HJ32.IH HJ32 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HJ 32 IH ‘‘ARTICLE — 1 ‘‘SECTION 1. No person who has been a Senator for 2 two consecutive terms shall again be eligible for election 3 or appointment to the Senate until the first day of the 4 second Congress that begins after the second consecutive 5 term. 6 ‘‘SECTION 2. No person who has been a Representa- 7 tive for six consecutive terms shall again be eligible for 8 election to the House of Representatives until the first day 9 of the second Congress that begins after the sixth consecu- 10 tive term. 11 ‘‘SECTION 3. For purposes of this article, any term 12 a person serves as a Senator or Representative to fill a 13 vacancy shall not be included in determining the number 14 of consecutive terms that the person has been a Senator 15 or Representative unless the period of time for which the 16 person fills the vacancy is greater than three years in the 17 case of a Senator or greater than one year in the case 18 of a Representative. 19 ‘‘SECTION 4. For the purposes of this article, any 20 term that began before the date of the ratification of this 21 article shall not be included in determining the number 22 of consecutive terms that a person has been a Senator or 23 Representative.’’. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Feb 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HJ32.IH HJ32 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.