The people of the State of Nebraska want to amend the United States Constitution to establish term limits on Congress that will ensure representation in Congress by true citizen lawmakers. The President of the United States is limited by the XXII Amendment to the United States Constitution to two terms in office. Governors in forty states are limited to two terms or less. Voters have established term limits for over two thousand state legislators as well as over seventeen thousand local officials across the country. Nevertheless, Congress has ignored our desire for term limits not only by proposing excessively long terms for its own members but also by utterly refusing to pass an amendment for genuine congressional term limits. Congress has a clear conflict of interest in proposing a term limits Amendment to the United States Constitution. A majority of both Republicans and Democrats in the 104th Congress voted against a constitutional amendment containing the term limits passed by a wide margin of Nebraska voters. The people, not Congress, should set term limits. We hereby establish as the official position of the citizens and State of Nebraska that our elected officials should enact by constitutional amendment congressional term limits of three terms in the United States House of Representatives and of two terms in the United States Senate.

The career politicians dominating Congress have a conflict of interest that prevents Congress from being what the founders intended, the branch of government closest to the people. The politicians have refused to heed the will of the people for term limits; they have voted to dramatically raise their own pay; they have provided lavish million-dollar pensions for themselves; and they have granted themselves numerous other privileges at the expense of the people. Most importantly, members of Congress have enriched themselves while running up huge deficits to support their spending. They have put the government nearly $5,000,000,000,000.00 (five trillion dollars) in debt, gravely threatening the future of our children and grandchildren.

The corruption and appearance of corruption brought about by political careerism is destructive to the proper functioning of the first branch of our representative government. Congress has grown increasingly distant from the people of the states. The people have the sovereign right and compelling interest in creating a citizen Congress that will more effectively protect our freedom and prosperity. This interest and right may not effectively be served in any way other than that proposed by this initiative.

We hereby state our intention on behalf of the people of Nebraska, that this initiative lead to the adoption of the following Amendment to the United States Constitution:

CONGRESSIONAL TERM LIMITS AMENDMENT TO

THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

Section 1. No person shall serve in the office of United States Representative for more than three terms, but upon ratification of this amendment no person who has held the office of United States Representative or who then holds the office shall serve for more than two additional terms.

Section 2. No person shall serve in the office of United States Senator for more than two terms, but upon ratification of this amendment no person who has held the office of United States Senator or who then holds the office shall serve for more than one additional term.

Section 3. This article shall have no time limit within which it must be ratified to become operative upon the ratification of the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states.

Therefore, we the people of the State of Nebraska, have chosen to amend the Constitution of Nebraska to inform voters regarding incumbent and nonincumbent federal and state candidates’ support for the congressional term limits amendment provided for in this section.