Q: Back in the 1990s, when Newt Gingrich was speaker, he had a platform, the “Contract With America,” where one of his main goals was term limits. Did anything come of that? Realistically, what is the possibility of it now?
—Raymond King, Conley
A: The Citizen Legislature Act portion of the Contract With America called for a six-term limit for members of the House of Representatives and a two-term limit for senators.
A bill limiting terms was introduced in the House but was defeated 227-204 in 1995.
Also that year, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 against states or Congress placing term limits on members of Congress in U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton.
President-elect Donald Trump told “60 Minutes” last month: “We’re going to put on term limits, which a lot of people aren’t happy about, but we’re putting on term limits.”
Trump’s plan is to place a two-term limit on senators (12 total years) and a three-term limit on members of the House (six total years).
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in November that term limits “will not be on the agenda in the Senate.”
Members of Congress currently can serve unlimited terms. Representatives serve two-year terms and senators serve six-year terms.
Q: Could you please publish a mailing address for Hillary Clinton? Some people may wish to contact her and wish her well.
—Gladys Wood, Powder Springs
A: You can write to Clinton at Hillary for America, P.O. Box 5256, New York, NY 10185.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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