The recent passing of Senator Lindsey Graham has once again raised an important question: How long is too long to serve in Congress?
Today, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is 92 years old and serves as President Pro Tempore of the Senate, fourth in the presidential line of succession. He has served in Congress for more than 50 years. Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, 84, has been absent from Senate duties for weeks amid questions about his health after first being elected in 1984. In the House of Representatives, more than half of the members age 80 and older are seeking another term.
This is not about any one politician or political party. It is about a system that has turned public service into a lifetime career.
Congress was never meant to be America’s assisted living facility.
Instead, it has become the nation’s most overpaid and underperforming institution. Members routinely spend decades in office, accumulating power while Washington becomes increasingly dysfunctional. The longer they stay, the more protecting the institution—and their own careers—takes priority over solving problems.
The Founders never envisioned a permanent political class. They expected citizens to serve for a time and then return home, allowing new voices and fresh ideas to emerge.
Experience certainly has value, but so do fresh perspectives. After 20, 30, or 40 years in Washington, too many lawmakers become products of the system instead of agents of change. Washington changes them far more often than they change Washington.
Meanwhile, the challenges facing America are evolving at lightning speed. Artificial intelligence is reshaping the economy. Cyber warfare threatens our national security. Blockchain technology is transforming finance. Global competition is more complex than ever.
Yet many of the people writing the laws governing these issues first took office before the internet existed.
Americans also deserve confidence that those making decisions about national security, the economy, and the nation’s future are fully capable of serving. Questions about age and cognitive ability should never be considered off limits simply because someone has held office for decades.
Fortunately, there is a solution that enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support.
Polls consistently show that nearly 87 percent of Americans—Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike—support congressional term limits. In today’s polarized political climate, almost nothing brings Americans together like this issue.
Term limits are also far from radical. The President is limited to two terms. Thirty-six governors serve under term limits, as do legislators in 16 states. Mayors in nine of America’s 10 largest cities are also subject to term limits.
So why should Congress be different?
What makes members of Congress so uniquely qualified that they should effectively be allowed to stay in office for life?
Nothing.
If term limits improve accountability everywhere else in government, they can improve accountability in Congress as well.
That is why New Mexico has an opportunity to lead.
Congress has repeatedly demonstrated that it has no interest in limiting itself. That leaves the states with a constitutional solution: an Article V Convention limited solely to proposing congressional term limits.
Several states have already acted, and New Mexico should join them.
By passing a resolution calling for an Article V Convention focused exclusively on congressional term limits, New Mexico can help build the momentum needed to finally force action on one of the most popular reforms in America. Limiting the convention to a single subject ensures that the focus remains exactly where Americans want it—ending career politicians in Congress.
This is not a partisan issue. Career politicians exist in both parties. Incumbency protects Republicans and Democrats alike. The longer members remain in office, the more disconnected they often become from the people they represent.
Regular turnover would bring new energy, fresh ideas, and leaders who understand the challenges facing today’s families and businesses. It would encourage elected officials to focus on making a difference instead of spending decades building political careers.
New Mexicans understand that no job should last forever simply because the person holding it wants to keep it. Every profession makes room for new leadership. Congress should be no exception.
The American people have spoken. They overwhelmingly support congressional term limits. Congress refuses to listen.
Now it is time for the states to act.
New Mexico should join the growing movement to restore citizen government and remind Washington that elected office was never intended to be a lifetime entitlement. It was meant to be temporary public service.
Congress was never designed to be a career.
It’s time to make sure it isn’t.
Siah Correa Hemphill is New Mexico State Chair, U.S. Term Limits.
