Sen. Ted Cruz, Rep. Francis Rooney Introduce Constitutional Amendment Imposing Term Limits On Congress

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Representative Francis Rooney of Florida on Thursday introduced a possible amendment to the United States Constitution that would impose term limits on members of Congress.

However, even that could be delayed because of the current government shutdown.

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The amendment calls for a limit of three, two-year terms in the House of Representatives and two, six-year terms in the Senate.

Of course, this means someone could serve 18 years in the United States Congress, in addition to any other offices held, like governor, state senate or even President of the United States of America.

This wouldn't wipe out career politicians, but it would certainly limit their capacity on a federal level — sans appointed judges.

Cruz, who just won a second term over Democrat challenger Beto O'Rourke in a highly-watched Senate race, said long-term politicians have "abused their power" and "created a brokenness" in Washington.

Cruz even urged his Republican mates to get ratification to the states as soon as possible.

"For too long, members of Congress have abused their power and ignored the will of the American people," Cruz said in a statement. "Term limits on members of Congress offer a solution to the brokenness we see in Washington, D.C. It is long past time for Congress to hold itself accountable. I urge my colleagues to submit this constitutional amendment to the states for speedy ratification."

Here is the document filed on Thursday.

Rooney, who just won re-election for his second term in the Southwest Florida area of Fort Myers, Bonita Springs and Naples, said an "overwhelming" amount of Americans support such an Amendment.

"The American people support term limits by an overwhelming margin. I believe that as lawmakers, we should follow the example of our founding fathers, Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who refused to consider public service as a career. Our history is replete with examples of leaders who served their country for a time and returned to private life, or who went on to serve in a different way."

Three Republican Senators — Marco Rubio (Florida), Mike Lee (Utah) and David Perdue (Georgia) — co-sponsored the amendment.

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This isn't Cruz's first attempt at curbing term limits for Congress. He introduced a similar resolution just two years ago to the date — Jan. 3, 2017 — with similar verbiage. This is what he wrote just two and a half weeks before Donald Trump's inauguration:

"D.C. is broken," said Cruz. "The American people resoundingly agreed on Election Day, and President-elect Donald Trump has committed to putting government back to work for the American people. It is well past time to put an end to the cronyism and deceit that has transformed Washington into a graveyard of good intentions.

Cruz continued: "The time is now for Congress, with the overwhelming support of the American people, to submit this constitutional amendment to the states for speedy ratification. With control of a decisive majority of the states, the House of Representatives, and the Senate, we have a responsibility to answer the voters' call-to-action. We must deliver."

According to Article V of the Constitution, "the Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is charged with responsibility for administering the ratification process under the provisions of 1 U.S.C. 106b. The Archivist has delegated many of the ministerial duties associated with this function to the Director of the Federal Register," per the federal archives.

Of course, the site is shut down in the midst of the federal government's partial shutdown.

The amendment filed by Cruz and Rooney, if passed, would certainly shake up Congress and potentially create a slew of newcomers at the ballot box for the next few election cycles.

Here is a list of Congressional members through 2020.