GOP lawmaker proposes term limits bill

Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) on Wednesday unveiled a bill imposing congressional term limits.

DeSantis introduced the legislation just before announcing his own Senate bid to replace Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who is running for president.

His measure to amend the Constitution would allow House members to serve a maximum of three two-year terms, while senators could serve up to two six-year terms. The proposal, if enacted, would not apply to current members of Congress.

{mosads}DeSantis, who has served in the House since 2013, argued that exempting incumbent lawmakers from term limits would help increase support for the measure. Many lawmakers have proposed establishing term limits over the years without success.

“Too many in Washington display a ruling class mentality and congressional term limits would go a long way towards restoring the citizen-legislator ethos of the Founding Fathers,” DeSantis said in a statement. “An approach that phases in congressional term limits reconciles the self-interest of members of Congress with the public’s desire to see these changes enacted and gives us the best chance to make term limits a reality.”

His bill has three co-sponsors so far, all Republicans: Reps. Matt Salmon (Ariz.) and Reid Ribble (Wis.), who have also offered bills to create term limits, and Rod Blum (Iowa), who created a Term Limits Caucus earlier this year.

A 2013 Gallup poll found 75 percent of Americans would vote for a law establishing term limits for members of Congress.

If DeSantis wins the GOP nomination for the seat, he might face Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.), who is, to date, the only Democrat to officially declare his candidacy.