TO THE HONORABLE RONALD REAGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE AND THE PRESIDING OFFICERS OF THE HOUSES OF THE LEGISLATURE OF EACH OF THE OTHER STATES IN THE UNION:

We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

WHEREAS, The United States Congress was intended to be a dynamic legislative institution; and

WHEREAS, The size and volume of the business of the federal government has encouraged what was once the citizen legislator to become a professional legislator; and

WHEREAS, The turnover in Congress has steadily decreased over the last eighty years, thereby preventing an influx of members of diverse backgrounds who bring new, innovative ideas and who are closer to the desires and thoughts of the people; and

WHEREAS, After being in office for a number of years, members of Congress tend to lose the sense of urgency which is required for an effective and efficient legislative body; and

WHEREAS, Many senior members of Congress lose touch with life outside of Washington D.C., and become convinced that most of society's problems can or should be solved by the federal government; and

WHEREAS, The absence of a limit on terms of congressmen combined with the seniority system in Congress has resulted in the centralization and the potential and actual abuse of power by many long-standing committee chairmen who too often use their positions to increase the size of their committee staffs and to extend excessive government control over that portion of society which they oversee and regulate and to bottle up major legislative initiatives for years, often against the will of the majority; and

WHEREAS, Because of new campaign practices and modern media coverage and the enormous financial costs, many members of Congress spend far too much of their time and energies getting reelected; and

WHEREAS, A limitation of terms would assure that a portion of Congress at any one time would be ineligible for reelection and virtually unfettered by the constraints of reelection so that they could devote their full energies to legislative matters free from special interest political concerns; and

WHEREAS, The present Congressional system has been unable to provide the self-discipline necessary to stop the growth of government and reduce the staggering budget deficits; and

WHEREAS, Under Article V of the Constitution of the United States, amendments to the United States Constitution may be proposed by the Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses deem it necessary and, on the application of the several states, the Congress shall call a constitutional convention for the sole purpose of proposing amendments, which action this legislature deems vital;

NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the Congress of the United States institute procedures to add a new article to the Constitution of the United States and to prepare and submit to the several states an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the total number of full terms of senators and representatives of the United States Congress be limited to twelve years service in each body; partial terms or those shortened to accommodate redistricting shall not be counted.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That, in the alternative, the legislature memorializes the Congress of the United States to call a constitutional convention for the specific and exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to the United States Constitution which would provide that the total number of full terms of senators and representatives in the United States Congress be limited to twelve years service in each body; partial terms or those shortened to accommodate redistricting shall not be counted.

BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Ronald Reagan, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington, and to the Secretary of State and the presiding officers of the houses of the legislature of each of the other states in the Union.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this memorial be prepared and forwarded to the secretaries of state and to the presiding officers of the legislatures of the several states with the request that they join this state in making application to the Congress of the United States to pass such an amendment or, in the alternative, to call a convention for the sole purpose of proposing such an amendment.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this application for a convention call for the purpose of proposing amendments be limited to the subject matter of this resolution, namely, a limitation of Congressional terms, and the State of Washington be counted as a part of the necessary two-thirds states for such a call only if the convention is limited to the subject matter of this memorial.