
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, November 22, 1994                   TAG: 9411220105
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Medium

GOP GETTING COLD FEET AS TERM-LIMIT VOTE NEARS

House Republicans, committed to a first-ever vote on congressional term limits, are having second thoughts about limiting their own stays in Washington.

The man who will be the new House majority leader, Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, suggested that public support for term limits may wane now that the GOP will control Congress. If Republicans ``can straighten out the House,'' he said in a recent interview, Americans may not be so enthusiastic about a constitutional amendment limiting the time a person may serve in Congress.

``They don't want to go home, they love this job,'' said Cleta Mitchell of the Term Limits Legal Institute in explaining the difficulty of getting the two-thirds majority in both chambers needed to pass a constitutional amendment to limit terms.

The House Republicans' ``Contract With America'' that lays out their agenda for their first 100 days in power promises a vote on term limits, which many Republicans made a key issue in their successful runs for congressional seats.

House Speaker Thomas Foley's opposition to term limits was a major factor in his loss to his Republican challenger, George Nethercutt Jr.

But already there are signs that the Republicans, back in power in the House for the first time in 40 years, are not that eager to give up their jobs.

Armey said in a recent National Public Radio interview that he supported term limits because the House has performed so poorly in recent years, but that he did so ``with a terrible amount of reluctance.''

``I think Americans will find their enthusiasm for term limits waning quite a bit,'' the Texas lawmaker said, if the Republicans ``can straighten out the House.''

Another Republican, Rep. Newt Gingrich of Georgia, the next speaker of the House and the chief promoter of the ``Contract,'' has also dismayed some term-limit advocates by saying the legislation would not be retroactive, thus relieving current members of immediate concern about their future employment.

Mitchell said that even with a groundswell of public support for term limits, getting the two-thirds majority of both houses needed for a constitutional amendment will be tough.

If the amendment passes both houses, three-quarters of the states would have to ratify it.

James Geoffrey, legislative aide to Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Fla., agreed that the prospects of winning two-thirds of the members were ``on the edge.''

by CNB