The Responsible Representation Blog – Introduction

This blog will be one source of information through which The Responsible Representation Committee presents information about our mission, news about the issue of term limits and advocacy for responsible representation by our elected officials in the federal government.
This first post will outline who we are, what our goals are, how we will achieve those goals and what you as a citizen can do to help.

WHO WE ARE:
 
We are a non-connected federal political action committee dedicated to advocating for responsible representation by our elected officials in the federal government.  Our first mission is to impose a twelve year limit on the time that any one person may serve in the United States Congress. This would be a twelve year limit on serving in either the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives or a combination of both.



WHY TERM LIMITS?

Most Politicians at the Federal level work for their own re-election rather than to achieve the goals of the constituents who elected them into office. By limiting the length of time each person may serve in the U.S. Congress we feel it more likely that elected representatives will be more inclined to work toward the goals of the constituents who elected them into office. There are a number of reasons why term limits would result in more responsible representation, listed below are only a few.

• An elected official who knows they will likely have to return to work in the public sector will be far more likely to work toward enacting legislation that would result in a better situation for anyone who is working in the public sector.
• Lobbyists, Corporate Interests, Labor Unions and Trade Associations will be less likely to influence elected officials who will only be serving a short length of time in the U.S. Congress.  Special Interests will be less likely to contribute large amounts of money in return for votes in favor of legislation that benefits them if the official they contribute that money to will be of no use to them after twelve years. Currently, backing a specific official has the potential to be a twenty to forty year investment.  Studies also show that it takes many years for these special interests to exert such influence on elected officials.
• Eliminating the opportunity to hold a seat in the U.S. Congress for twenty, thirty or forty years would eliminate those who are seeking to establish a life long career in congress and/or who would seek such an office for power and/or financial purposes. We would be far more likely to see candidates who seek those offices for the betterment of society rather than their own personal gain.

 
HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE TERM LIMITS?

The first question asked of anyone proposing Term Limits is: “How can we impose Term Limits on Congress if it is Congress that has to vote to enact term limits?”  In order to impose term limits on the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Constitution must be amended. Traditionally, the Constitution has only ever been amended by a 3/4 vote of the U.S. Congress. This is why so many Americans feel that the movement to impose Term Limits is a pointless endeavor, as it is very unlikely that those congressmen whose terms would be limited would be willing to vote to limit their own terms. However, the founders of our country had predicted there might in the future arise a situation where a change or amendment to the United States Constitution which is desired by a majority of the citizens of the United States would be opposed by those Congressmen who were the ones whose votes were necessary to make such a change. With this possible conflict of interests in mind, the framers of the constitution added an alternative to amend the U.S. Constitution that did not require the votes of either U.S. Senators or U.S. Representatives. This alternative was placed within the U.S. Constitution as part of Article V.

WHAT IS AN ARTICLE V CONVENTION?

Article V of the U.S. Constitution is a section of the ultimate Legal code of our nation that defines how amendments may be made to that document and the fundamental laws and basic rights which it guarantees.

The text of Article V of the U.S. Constitution:

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

The first part describes what is necessary for the U.S. Congress to amend the Constitution, however it is the second part that we must understand in order to amend the Constitution without the consent of the U.S. Congress.  The founding fathers made provisions specifically to enable the people, by way of their State Legislatures, to bypass a Congress that was hostile to an amendment proposed by the people and to call a Constitutional Convention where the states themselves could propose and vote on such an amendment.

What this means is that the State Legislatures may apply to hold a constitutional convention for the purpose of amending the constitution. Should two thirds of the current fifty states make this application, Congress is required by law to hold such a convention of the State Legislatures for the expressed purpose of amending the United States Constitution. If the proposed amendment is approved by this Congressional Congress, it would then be sent to the States for ratification. Ratification by three fourths of the fifty states would result in a legal amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

HOW WILL RRC PAC ACHIEVE THESE GOALS?

The very first effort in achieving this goal must be to educate the American public about the issue and how term limits can be achieved. Very few Americans are aware that an amendment to the U.S. Constitution can be implemented without having to have the support of those Congressmen whose power would be limited by such an amendment. Recent polls say that between 75% and 80% of the American public are in favor of term limits and it is only by making them aware that it is possible to achieve such a goal and how to do so that term limits will ever be imposed upon those serving in the federal government. Public outreach, by way of telephone solicitation, mail solicitation, social media campaigns and personal interaction with the public through word of mouth and public events will be the main sources of our public awareness efforts.  Petitions signed by supportive citizens and presented to state legislatures will be another important effort which will detail the scope of public support for the issue to those state legislators who will be necessary to call an Article V Convention. Finally, support of state legislators who are willing to support federal term limits, by way of campaign contributions and media support of those legislators will be the final push in achieving the goal of calling an Article V Convention.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

Involvement by everyday citizens is the only way that these goals can be achieved. Discussing the issue with family, friends and even business acquaintances will increase awareness of the issue. Sharing the website, blogs, facebook posts and tweets of the RRC PAC, especially in this age of social media, will be a boon to the movement and expose vast portions of the public to the issue. Finally, personal contributions to the RRC PAC are a vital portion of the RRC PAC’s mission. Printing, postage, website and domain fees, event fees and a variety of other administrative costs are prohibitive in our current economy, and the RRC PAC would be unable to effectively advocate or even to exist without the contributions of supporters.

As a 527 tax-exempt organization, we exist solely on the contributions that are provided by the general citizenry. We cannot, by law, accept contributions from businesses, trade associations, labor unions, or other corporate entities. Contributions are limited to $1000 per year per citizen. By Federal Law, we are bound to use our best efforts to attempt to obtain the employment and employer information of any contributor who donates more than $200. Contributions made to the Responsible Representation Committee are not refundable or transferable and are NOT deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes. As a federal political action committee we are bound by the regulations and oversight of the Federal Elections Commission and all contributions, receipts and expenditures must, by law, be reported to the Federal Elections Commission.  Any citizen, upon request, will be able to receive the same report of receipts and expenditures that will be provided to the FEC.

Information on how to contribute, how to contact us with any questions, more about what we do as well as term limits news and links to other information about the term limits movement may be found at our website. Please visit us at: http://rrcpac.org

Bill Hirons, President, The Responsible Representation Committee