Understanding Congressional Term Limits

Congress is a bicameral legislature and is the governing body if the United States of America. Now, with most important governmental positions, there are term limits; these are limits that are used to regulate the number of terms served by officials. For example, the current limitation for the President of the United States is two terms; this can either be two consecutive terms, or non-consecutive terms.

However, when it comes to the Congressional bodies: both Senate and House of Representatives there are no congressional term limits. The only term limits for congress which are actually set, are how long terms can be before re-election is necessary. When it comes to this type of congressional term limits, they vary between the Senate and the House of Representatives.

When it comes to term length regarding the Senate; senators are elected for 6 year terms, and once these terms are up, they are allowed to campaign for re-election into the Senate again. This can be done for the entirety of an individual’s life. This is because there are no term limits for congress, regarding how many times one can hold a Congressional office. The House of Representatives has a short term span, of only 2 years before re-election is necessary.

However, the lack of term limits for congress is an issue that some political parties, and members of the American public would like to see changed. Often this is to help keep a fair advantage for those who are vying for the position, to be able to be elected; it also helps to keep new perspectives and variety in the body. However, in order for congressional term limits to be passed, it would have to be a bill passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

NEXT: What is Congress?