WASHINGTON, DC -- Congressman Collin C. Peterson (DFL-7th District) last night voted in favor of all four of the term limit constitutional amendments before the House of Representatives.
"It is unfortunate that none of these amendments passed the House by the two-thirds vote required for a constitutional amendment," Peterson said. "It is clear that the people of this country and the 7th District want term limits and I'm disappointed that we failed to achieve enough votes.
"I still believe the most workable way to do term limits is to limit everyone - members, staff, bureaucrats. If you only limit members, you turn more power over to the staff and the bureaucrats. I had filed a term limit bill that would have done that, but unfortunately this Congress wasn't given the opportunity to vote on it. However, I believe that term limits minus the above features does more good than harm, so I supported all the different versions."
The term limit constitutional amendments voted on consisted of one that would limit Representatives and Senators to 12 years each; one that would limit both Representatives and Senators to 12 years but was retroactive; one that would limit both Representatives and Senators to 12 years, but would allow states to have shorter term limits; and one that would limit Representatives to six years and Senators to 12 years.
"The term limit issue will be back before Congress in the future, and I will continue to support it."