An Argument Against Senate Joint Resolution 2
On January 3, 2017, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced a bill in the Senate entitled, "A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to limiting the number of terms that a Member of Congress may serve," or S.J.Res. 2. Cruz and the sponsors of the bill want to limit the number of terms a Representative may serve to three, and limit the number of terms a Senator may serve to two. The bill, ostensibly, is meant to guard against career politicians, making Congress more answerable to the people. (This, of course, does not apply to members of Congress that already hold office.) While this amendment sounds reasonable on the surface, and certain limits may in fact be beneficial, it is important to stop and consider carefully before making changes to the Constitution.
The Congress was deliberately and methodically designed during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. To balance power between the states, it was decided that the membership of the House of Representatives would be based on state population, while the Senate would represent each state equally. Originally, Representatives were to be elected by the general population, while Senators were to be elected by state legislatures: the populace were not to directly have a say in who represented them in the Senate. As today, Representatives were to serve two-year terms, while Senators were to serve six-year, staggered terms, with 1/3 of members' terms expiring every two years.
The Adoption of the U.S. Constitution in Congress at Independence Hall, Philadelphia
This design had purpose. The House was meant to be changeable, shifting and re-balancing as populations and social norms changed. The Senate was different; it was meant to be steadier, a seat of policy expertise that Senators could cultivate over their relatively long terms. James Madison explained the role of the Senate as, "...first to protect the people against their rulers [and] secondly to protect the people against the transient impressions into which they themselves might be led." The Senate was meant to be immune to the periodic polarities of political opinion.
The past eight years, and especially the past 25 days, have made it abundantly clear that America is polarized in the extreme. Perhaps Representatives should be limited in the number of terms they can serve, perhaps not. But to undo the careful, nuanced planning of the role of the Senate to further some temporary agenda in today's political climate is foolish at least, and dangerous at worst. We must continue to allow Senators to cultivate expertise in policy-making, just as the Founders intended.
