Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 29, 1995 TAG: 9503290073
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
``If we get half the Democrats, we will pass the term-limits constitutional amendment,'' House Speaker Newt Gingrich declared Tuesday as debate opened. He said that more than 85 percent of GOP lawmakers would vote for the measure and ``it ought to be possible to get half the Democrats to side with the country that elects them.''
The term-limits issue has had a rocky path toward this week's expected vote, particularly for an issue that commands support in the 70 percent range in public polls.
Some senior Republicans oppose the limits. They include Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who calls term limits a ``dumb idea'' that would rob Congress of needed expertise, and Texas Rep. Tom DeLay, the party's whip, who says they would enhance the power of unelected bureaucrats.
Efforts to build public support for a specific version have been hampered by squabbling among outside interest groups, and GOP energy has been diverted into hard-fought struggles over welfare, taxes and other issues. Gingrich noted this month that constitutional amendments often take years to amass the support needed.
It takes a two-thirds vote - 290 if all 435 lawmakers vote - to send the measure to the Senate. Republicans hold 230 seats in the House, Democrats 204, and there is one independent.
Aides to Republican leaders predicted that about 190 to 200 GOP lawmakers and about 40 to 50 Democrats would vote for term limits, leaving the measure well shy of passage. ``I'm against any abridgement of the right of voters to choose,'' said one Democratic opponent, Pat Williams of Montana.
Expecting defeat this week, supporters already are discussing their next step. Some hope Gingrich will commit to holding another vote before the 1996 elections. There was a scattering of support for capping lawmakers' pensions after 12 years' service; others mentioned the possibility of legislation - as opposed to an amendment - that would limit lawmakers' tenure. Gingrich is expected to wrap up debate today with a speech in favor of term limits.
Republicans sought from the opening moments of debate to reap political gain from bringing the issue to the floor.
The previous House speaker, Democrat Thomas Foley, ``refused to allow term limits to come to the floor for a debate and vote,'' noted Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla.. Foley was defeated last fall in a race that turned, in part, on a lawsuit he had filed challenging a statewide ballot initiative to impose term limits in Washington state.
Ohio Rep. John Boehner, head of the Republican caucus, told reporters Tuesday, ``We've got a number of term-limits groups out there that are fighting with each other over what kind of term limits to have.''
U.S. Term Limits, which supports a three-term limit for House members, caused a furor this year when it aired advertisements attacking Republicans who favor a six-term limit. ``We had to fight and claw to get term limits into the `Contract With America,''' shot back Rep. Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio. ``This is the thanks we get.''
With GOP leaders struggling with an ambitious legislative agenda in a compressed, 100-day timetable, the measure that emerged from the Judiciary Committee pleased few lawmakers. It would have allowed House members to serve six terms, then sit out one term and serve six more. It was swiftly jettisoned, and the senior GOP leadership postponed a floor vote.
A few days later, they announced plans to permit votes on four alternatives. One is for a three-term maximum for House members; one for a maximum of six terms; one fixes a six-term limit, but allows states to impose shorter tenures. Twenty-two states have voted for term limits on their own lawmakers, and a Supreme Court ruling is expected on the constitutionality of that approach this year.
The fourth alternative is backed by Democrats. It sets a retroactive six-term limit and would permit states to set shorter limits. All measures would cap Senate service at two six-year terms.
The Democratic leader, Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, opposes term limits and has no plans to speak on the floor on the issue.
by CNB