Ryan says he backs term limits for Congress

With the vice presidential debate four days away, the pressure is on for Joe Biden to lift Democrats after a rough week and Paul Ryan to build on Mitt Romney's momentum. Bill Plante has a preview of what normally is just a side show, but has the potential to be a major event. / JEWEL SAMAD

WAUKESHA, Wis. - In spite of his own seven terms in Congress - and current pursuit of an eighth - vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan told a voter here on Monday that he would favor a constitutional amendment limiting the number of years that members of the House and Senate can hold their positions.

"I've always supported that in Congress. That takes a Constitutional amendment," Ryan said. "What you don't to do is have a state do it to itself, and short-change its seniority and its clout in Congress, but I've always been a fan of term limits. I've always supported that. I've always believed that this should be something that you serve temporarily and not for an entire lifetime."

The man at the town hall who asked if he favored term limits gave an example: two six-year terms for senators and six two-year terms for members of the House of Representatives, meaning no one would serve in Congress for more than 12 years.

Ryan began his response by saying that he co-sponsored legislation to that end when he entered Congress, but a National Journal/CBS News examination of bills to which Ryan added his name did not find any relating to term limits.

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During his initial run for the House in 1998, Ryan backed the idea, according to the Huffington Post. "We need to return power to the people by taking it away from a growing political class," his campaign website stated at the time. "One way to do this is by passing a Constitutional Amendment that will limit the number of terms a Congressman or Senator can serve. We have limited the number of terms the President can serve. The same should be done for legislators."

But Ryan refused to sign a three-term limit pledge because he thought it should have the backing of all members of Congress, the Huffington Post said. He also did not specify at the time what he thought the cap should be on re-elections.

His position puts him in line with Mitt Romney's, who endorsed term limits during a town hall in Hopkinton, N.H., last October. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had people who'd go to Washington for some period of time and then go home and get a real job again in the real economy? That would be a wonderful thing," he said.

[jcmtnez]

I just started a petition on the White House petitions site to call for a referendum to set term limits for Senators and Representatives. Will you sign it? http://wh.gov/nMZ3

[kenwaldmann]

We already have term limiters. They're called voters. When it's time to go, the voters should kick them out. Passing a law to limit terms essentially disenfranchises citizens from voting for the candidate of their choice.

[_POPVOX]

A resolution pending in Congress calls for a constitutional amendment limiting terms that can be served.
H.J.Res 71 "H.J.Res. 71: Proposes an amendment to the Constitution of the United States limiting the number of terms that a Member of Congress may serve to 3 in the House of Representatives and 2 in the Senate."

You can view co-sponsors, read text and weigh in here:
https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/hjres71

[tsigili]

The people need to DEMAND term limits, AND 2 more things.........Congress should NOT be setting their own salaries, and they should NOT be setting their own work schedules!

[bill9650]

I just started a petition on the White House Petitions site, We the
People.

Will you sign it? http://wh.gov/XXIY

[habusteve]

Who Paul Ryan????

[levelheadedtoo]

Hey Paul, A vote on term limits will work as well as "self deportation" Be careful of what you wish for.

[lonestar9000]

The question should have been: "Do you support term limits if that means there will be no such thing as retiring from Congress, no retirement benefits, free healthcare, no anything. Just serving your country."

[frankblank]

Lyin Ryan is either lying or ready to quit tomorrow. If you think something is right you don't do its opposite just because Congressman Ricky-Lick Koch is doing it.

That said, term limits is probably a bad idea. As with the teabuggers of 2010, you will simply get a bunch of ignoramuses in congressmen who start taking money from lobbyists even sooner than they otherwise would. Term limits = taking more money faster.

But the upsurge of ignorance is the real problem.

[frankblank]

oops, "ignoramuses in congress".

[1988JAck]

LOL. he backs it unless he has to go back there. This man has had no other jobs. What a liar he is.

[rationall7]

I did a Contract for America search and in theory some of it sounds good but was never passed by the GOP.

Government and Operational Reforms

On the first day of their majority in the House, the Republicans promised to pass eight major reforms:
1.require all laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply to Congress;
2.select a major, independent auditing firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse;
3.cut the number of House committees, and cut committee staff by one-third;
4.limit the terms of all committee chairs;
5.ban the casting of proxy votes in committee;
6.require committee meetings to be open to the public;
7.require a three-fifths majority vote to pass a tax increase;
8.guarantee an honest accounting of the Federal Budget by implementing zero base-line budgeting.

(1) Require all laws that apply to the rest of the country apply to congress. It wasn't untill 2011 or 2012 congress lost their "Insider Trading" perk and that was only because CBS brought it to the public.

(4) Ryan's favorite "Term Limits" 18 years later and no term limits.

The GOP is as shifty as they get, it's one thing if it comes out of their mouth but to put it on paper then dismiss it down the road, for them it's all about me and forget about any contract.