# Plain Language Summary: Congressional Term Limits Amendment

This bill proposes a constitutional amendment that would limit how long members of Congress can serve in office. Specifically, it would cap senators at two consecutive six-year terms (12 years total) and representatives at six consecutive two-year terms (12 years total). After hitting these limits, a member would have to sit out for at least one full election cycle before they could run for that same office again. So a senator who served two terms couldn't run again until at least two years had passed, and a representative would need to wait at least two years as well.

The amendment includes a few technical details worth understanding. If someone is appointed or elected to fill a vacancy mid-term, that time doesn't count toward their term limit unless they serve more than three years (for senators) or more than one year (for representatives). This prevents someone from getting penalized for a brief appointment. Additionally, any terms that were already served before this amendment was ratified wouldn't count against the new limits, so current long-serving members wouldn't be forced out immediately.

For this amendment to become law, it would need approval from two-thirds of both the House and Senate, then ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures within seven years. This is a high bar intentionally built into the Constitution amendment process. The practical effect, if passed, would be that experienced legislators would eventually be forced to leave office or switch to different positions, potentially bringing more new faces to Congress but also removing institutional knowledge and expertise that long-serving members accumulate.

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

Tenney, Claudia

 <p>This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting a person from serving more than two consecutive terms as a Senator or six consecutive terms as a Representative. Terms beginning before the ratification of this amendment do not count towards consecutive term limits.</p>