State Would Invoke an Article V Convention of the States to Rein in Congress
The Utah House of Representatives on Monday evening approved a resolution calling for an Article V convention for the purpose of imposing term limits on members of Congress. House Joint Resolution 18 (HJR 18) passed by a vote of 38 to 37. Utah may become the second state to pass an Article V convention resolution for congressional term limits if the state’s Senate passes HJR 18 in a vote scheduled for Thursday.
The resolution is sponsored by U.S. Term Limits, an organization that advocates for enacting term limits at all levels of government. Heartland does not endorse a specific Article V effort.
The following statements from constitutional reform experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected] and 312/377-4000.
“The Utah House of Representatives sent a message to the Washington politicians that they would like a lot more Utah and a lot less of the beltway crowd representing them in Congress.
“Utah has long been a national leader in reforming both the national and state governments. Utahns, along with a broad section of Americans, strongly disapprove of the current Congress because nothing is getting done. Ensuring Congressional term limits through an Article V convention is the first step to restore the shattered confidence Utahns have in Congress.”
Kyle Maichle
Project Manager, Constitutional Reform
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“The Utah House took another step forward today to rein in our dysfunctional federal government by passing an Article V term limits resolution.
“Having passed an Article V balanced budget amendment resolution last year, Utah is using the tools our Founders gave the states to maintain checks and balances over Washington.”
David Guldenschuh
Policy Advisor for Constitutional Reform
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“By calling for the term limits convention, the Utah House has taken a step toward fixing the broken system in Washington. Career politicians have let the people down by promising solutions but delivering only more debt and dysfunction. Term limits will loosen the power of incumbency and allow new energy and ideas to emerge in Congress.”
Nick Tomboulides
Executive Director
U.S. Term Limits
[email protected]
312/377-4000
The Heartland Institute is a 32-year-old national nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.