Up next a senate panel looks at the pros and cons of setting term limits for advocate. Advocates argue that term limits would allow them to spend time raising money for reelection. We hear from senator jim demint at this subcommittee hearing on the constitution. Good afternoon. This hearing is called to order. I apologize that we are slightly delayed. We had a series of votes on the senate floor. But it is good now to convene the hearing. Let me begin by thanking all of you for attending. And thank youing senator hirono oh efor working with plea and my staff to convene the hearing and bring the witnesses together. The topic before us is one, i believe, of great importance. The need for term limits for members of congress so that we begin to fix what is broken here in washington politics. Before i introduce our first panel id like to explain why weve organized todays hearing. The 2016 election, the American People made a resounding call to drain the swamp. That is modern washington. And sadly this is a bipartisan problem. The American People have lost confidence in washington and especially in congress. And it isnt hard to see why. Enmeshed in back room deals and broken promises, our capitol has too often become a political playground for the powerful and well connected. For members of the permanent Political Class looking to accumulate more and more power at the expense of american taxpayers. As part of his promise to drain the swamp, President Trump strongly endorsed and campaigned on passing congressional term limits. Though our founders didnt include term limits in the constitution, they feared the creation of a permanent Political Class that existed parallel to rather than within american society. As Benjamin Franklin observed, quote, in free governments, the rulers are the servants. And the people their superiors. For the former, therefore, to return among the latter was not to degrade but to promote them. The fears of the framers have today been realized. Today the swamp is hard at work picking winners and losers. With hard working americans typically winding up on the losing end. Every Year Congress spends billions of dollars on give aways for the well connected. Washington insiders get taxpayer money. Members of congress get reelected. And the system works for everyone except the American People. In kind of selfinterest builds on itself as members spend more and more time in office. In an age in which the partisan divide seem intractable, it is remarkable that public support for congressional term limits remains strong across party lines. In poll after poll conducted over decades, americans who are republicans, democrats, who are independents, american who are conservatives, liberals, moderating, men, women, who are angle o american, africanamerican, hispanic, all support term limits by overwhelming margins. For example, a 2018 maclaughlin Associates Poll found that 812 of americans support term limits for congress. Including 89 of republicans, but also 76 of democrats. Support term limits. 83 of independents support term limits. 72 of hispanics support term limits. And 70 of africanamericans support term limits. Indeed, the one group it seems in america that doesnt support term limits are career politicians here in washington. Everybody else recognizes the problem. A 2016 rasmussen poll shod showed much the same thing as did 2013 factual up poll. These results have been consistent year after year. Ending the dynamic of congress enriching insiders and using those insiders to hold to powers favors Neither Party. Its not a problem of just republicans or just democrats. Restoring confidence and accountability in congress shouldnt be the business of Just One Party or of just this committee or even of just the senate. It concerns all americans. Whatever your politics. So why hasnt congress acted already . Its straightforward. Too many career politicians dont want to restrict their own power. And Neither Party wants to act on its own. Still, the American People recognize that congressional term limits would help fix the brokenness and corruption fostered by career politician in washington today. At our founding representatives left homes, farms, businesses traveled to washington to represent constituents. Serving in congress for a time. But usually returned to their homes and affairs. Leaders like George Washington and john adams and James Madison reach the height of political power and then reling wished it to return to public life private life. But today members of congress arent doing that. Instead far too many of our politicians come to washington to stay. Too much of washingtons business is dictated by career politicians by bureaucrats and by lobbyists spending time as one or the other. The rise of political careerism in modern washington is a sharp departure from what the founders intended in our federal governing bodies. To effectively drain the swamp and to end the phenomenon of career politicians its long past time to enact term the limits for congress. I the author of a constitutional amendment that would limit u. S. Senators to two sixyear terms and would limit members of the house of representatives to the three twoyear terms. At this point we have currently four coresponseners the senate. Its my hope the hearing today helps explain why we should come across party lines to enact term limits to protect the American People. The senate i believe should take up and vote on the term limits amendment that ive introduced and if congress will simply listen to the American People to the overwhelming Majorities Across Party Lines that want to see term limits which we have for the president , see term limits also for congress, then we can rest confident that the states would quickly ratify that amendment. The only impediment is the United States congress. And i hope that this hearing and the panel that we haved to, the two panels will help move that discussion forward. With that i recognize senator hirono for her opening. Thank you, mr. Chairman. And thank you to all of our witnesses for coming this afternoon. To discuss whether or not Congress Congressional term limits are an effective way to improve our government. I know senator cruz believes that term limits would help solve the problems we have with corruption, conyism and accountability in congress. But there are better and easier ways and i would say more effective ways to connect the government more directly and honestly to the people. In my view the most effective term limits are elections. And the most knowledgeable term limiters are voters. To venting strengthen voting this constitutional mechanism of accountability we should be working to ensure more americans are able to vote. By making votes easier in the United States, not harder. By making Voter Registration as simple as possible. By stopping unnecessary and discriminatory purging of voter roles. By making it easier for people to vote early or allow them to vote by mail. Id say that the American People were asked whether they support the aforementioned points probably wed find that a vast majority would support these suggestions. But congress is not acting to do any of those things. We should all condemn discriminatory voter id laws. Partisan gerry mannedering and enact law to reverse the Shelby County decision. We should also admit that there is no crisis of voter fraud and instead counter the real problems of Election Fraud, like we saw in North Carolina and Election Security. We should pass any of the very sound bills proposed by my colleague that is would require reporting of offers of foreign election interference, secure election systems and require paper ballots. We dont need to artificially restrict voters voices. Instead, we should expand voting access and opportunities. The more eligible americans voting in every election, the better. Full stop. Our concerns about corruption can be tackled by improving ethics rules and procedures. Lets make sure that there is more reporting and transparency, not just in congress, but across all branches of government. If what we want is more confidence in elected officials lets make it easier for voters to trust us. Anyone elected to Public Office in in country or even appointed to high positions of trust like the cabinet should have the should have to prove to the public that their only interest is the public interest. We should all have to divest ourselves of any private business interests, from small peanut farms to large multinational branding companies, to anything in between. We should not be able to profit from our Public Service once we are finished with it either. If for example you served as head of a department making decisions about detaining immigrants, like former secretary of Homeland Security john kelly you shouldnt be allowed immediately to go through the revolving door and get paid by a Corporation Building the detention facilities. Former members of congress should not have floor privileges if they use them to lobby clients. No one elected officials have problems with public trust. We do not police ourselves effectively. A final thing id like to highlight is the mechanism for improving government thats right there in our constitution as the first of the bill of rights. Im talking about freedom of press. If we want to make our elected officials more accountable, we should all sport the rights of a free press. Because no matter how good voter turnout is, no matter how safe the elections systems are, no matter how transparent members of congress are about our conflicts, as Justice Lewis brand ice rode. Look electric lights the most efficient policeman, end quote. Instead calling thefree press the enemy of the people and calling their access to what the government is doing we need to champion their role and increase transparency. The more informed voters are, the better choices will be, and the more responsive our government will become. So while i agree with senator cruz that congress and government as a whole owes our voters more than they are getting now. I dont agree that term limits is the answer. In a testing ground of of state governments term limits have served to strengthen the executive branch at the expense of legislatures making lobbyists more not less influential and they restrict voters choices. I do look forward to hearing more details from our witnesses on both sides of the question. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator hirono. Well now introduce our first witness. The honorable jim demint. Kmarm of the Partner Partnership ship institute. A friend to many on this committee. Senator demint served the American People in both houses of congress from 1999 to 2005. He represented South Carolinas Fourth District and from 2007 to 2013 he represented the state of South Carolina and the United States senate. Where he authored leading conservative reforms to health care, education, taxes and entitlements. Among his many achievements senator demint led conservative efforts to ban congressional earmarks, something that the republican conference this year made a permanent ban within our conference. Most relevant to todays hearing, senator demint led an effort to impose term limits on members of the house and senate. Ultimately taking a resolution that would have expressed the sense of the senate that the constitution ought to be amended to include term limits to the to the floor of the senate. At the conclusion of his service in the senate, senator demint became the president of the heritage foundation, working there for four years. Senator demint is currently the chairman of the conservative policy institute. And he is also the founder of the Senate Conservatives fund. Senator demint is the author of several books, including now or never, saving america from economic collapse, the Great American awakening, two years that changed america, saving freedom, we can stop americas slide into socialism, and most recently, falling in love with america again. Which debuted at number number one on the Washington Post best seller list. Senator dekmint welcome and i would ask that you stand and be sworn in. Raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm the testimony you are about to give before this committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you god. I do. Thank you, mr. Chairman, Ranking Member. Former colleagues on the subcommittee, its extremely gracious of you to invite me today, especially considering im going to spend my time advocating for your unemployment. Its nothing personal, i promise. I get the opportunity to travel all over the country and speak to a lot of groups. And i find there are many issues where the opinions of the American People and congress are divergent. But there are few issues where that gap is as large as the issue of term limits. If you need a standing applause line, its talk about term limits and people will stand up and applaud. As mr. Mr. Chairman you already pointed out, somewhere between 75, 80 of americans believe in term limits. Not only for congressman and senators but they sure like the idea of judges and bureaucrats but because they instinctively know what is an Eternal Truth that power corrupts. And in washington seniority is closely associated with power. There are good arguments for and against congressional term limits. And niece are roughly the same arguments that delegates debated at the constitutional convention. It was george mason of virginia who argued that nothing is so essentially to the republican government as a periodic rotation of his representative processes. Rufus king of new york insisted that he who has proved himself to be most fit for office ought not to be excluded by the constitution from holding it. In theory, both are right. A governmental turnover is undeniably healthy for any republic. Especially for one as large diverse as we are. Meanwhile, excluding capable legislators from serving would be a loss. The philosophical argument about term limits can be a close call as it was in 1787. Unlike our founders, however, we dont have to confine our debate to theoretical abstractions we can draw on real world experience with our 230yearold system and especially performance of the last few decades. And the practical case for term limits, mr. Chairman is no longer a close call. We do not have to speculate as the founders did that the prospect of a permanent tenure in Congress Might tempt senators and representatives toward selfinterested, shortterm thinking. We know for fact especially in recent decades when control of congress has been constantly up for grabs, in shortterm thinking has become congresss defining defect. For individual members, shortterm thinking warps incentives towards bringing home the bacon and fund raising and to the special interests who can deliver them both. Members spend less time legislating and more time raising money. Both for their own reelections and for the Political Action committees specifically designed to finance their careers ambitions. And members quickly give up Campaign Promises of bold ideas such as balancing the budget and turn to new programs spending more money that they can deliver to their constituents. As individual members have retreated from their legislative responsibilities, Party Leaders have, however poorly, filled the gap. Given incentives, leaders now use the house and senate not as legislative institutions but as arms of their parties campaign committees. The senate in particular no longer functions as a legislative body at all. Leaders of both parties have shut down deliberative floor debate and amendment votes for the sole purpose of shielding senators from political politically controversial votes. There by denying the American Peoples right to an accountable legislature. Members who criticize this dysfunctional shirts versus skin approached are chastised for not being team players. And threatened with being cut off from Party Leaders, special interests fund z raising gravy train. Conscious burdened senators and representatives are reassured that this process however imperfect is simply how they make their way in washington. But in truth its how washington makes its way into them. Lifelong tenure incentivizing members to prioritize the next election over the next generation. And partisanship over statesmanship. Relion interests away from the American People and towards the swamp. The consequences are all around us. The 22 trillion national debt, the wasteful pork barrel programs appropriated specifically to facility reelection. The unending entitlement programs that both parties know are hurling the nation into insolvency. Congresss lack of oversight over the sprawling federal bureaucracy. The power of special interests, particularly the corrupt allure of the post congressional career on k street for members who play ball. Th