SC House Judiciary Committee advances resolution for term limits in US Congress

FILE – Police officers are the only people seen at the South Carolina Statehouse on Jan. 20, 2021, in Columbia, S.C. The Republican-dominated South Carolina House is expected to debate a bill restricting medical care for transgender minors on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins, File)

(WCIV) — A resolution to install congressional term limits moved forward from the South Carolina House Judiciary Committee Tuesday afternoon.

The 13-11 committee vote pushes forward Rep. Cal Forrest and the nonprofit U.S. Term Limits‘ efforts to shorten the length of time someone can serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.

“The people of South Carolina are lucky to have public servants who see what is going on in D.C. and are willing to take action to fix it,” said Philip Blumel, the president of U.S. Term Limits. “They know that Congress won’t set term limits on itself. Therefore, it is the obligation of the states to do so.”

The resolution seeks to call a convention to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to limit the number of terms a person can be elected in the House of Representatives or Senate. No number of terms was officially submitted with the resolution, according to the State Legislature’s website.

Around 79% of likely voters in South Carolina support term limits on Congress, including strong support among Democrats and Republicans, according to a poll conducted by RMG Research.

Support for the resolution has more than 50 legislators signed on, according to a news release. The next vote will be on the entire house floor.

If the measure passes in both chambers, South Carolina plans to apply a convention to propose term limits to the U.S. Congress.

Democrat Rep. James E. Clyburn is in his 17th term as a member of Congress. He was first elected in 1992. He is 84.