I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1104

To protect and enforce the equal privileges and immunities of citizens of

the United States and the constitutional rights of the people to choose

Senators and Representatives in Congress.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 1, 1995

Mr. SANFORD (for himself, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, and Mrs. CHENOWETH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on

House Oversight

A BILL

To protect and enforce the equal privileges and immunities

of citizens of the United States and the constitutional

rights of the people to choose Senators and Representatives in Congress.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electoral Rights En5 forcement Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that:
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1 (1) The right of the people of the States to

2 choose their Senators and Representatives in Con3 gress is a fundamental right and a privilege and im4 munity of citizenship reserved to the States or the

5 people by the tenth amendment, and enforceable

6 under the fourteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth, nine7 teenth, twenty-fourth and twenty-sixth amendments

8 and article I, sections 4 and 8, of the Constitution.

9 (2) A State and its people may reasonably con10 clude that requiring regular rotation in office of

11 their Senators and Representatives in Congress best

12 serves their needs and the interests of good govern13 ment.

14 (3) An overwhelming majority of the people in

15 every State favor term limits on their Senators and

16 Representatives in Congress.

17 (4) Long-time incumbents often have benefits

18 from their offices that have given them unequal ad19 vantages in obtaining reelection.

20 (5) Entrenched incumbency has had the effect

21 of denying equal rights to seek office.

22 (6) Entrenched incumbency has had the effect

23 of reducing the participation of racial minorities,

24 women, and young voters in elections for the Senate

25 and House of Representatives.
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1 (7) Long-time incumbents often encourage un2 constitutional gerrymandering of congressional dis3 tricts to assist their continuing in office.

4 (8) Long-time incumbents often become more

5 responsive to special interests than to the voters,

6 thus infringing on the voter’s right to nondiscrim7 inatory treatment in the provision of government

8 services.

9 (9) Long-term incumbents often have advan10 tages in obtaining financial support for campaigns,

11 which result in greatly unequal opportunities among

12 candidates seeking election.

13 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of the Act are—

14 (1) to enforce the guarantees of equal protec15 tion of the laws and protect the privileges and im16 munities of citizens of the United States, as guaran17 teed by the fourteenth amendment, by authorizing

18 the people and the States to limit the terms of their

19 Senators and Representatives in Congress;

20 (2) to enforce the guarantees of the tenth

21 amendment to the same end;

22 (3) to enforce the guarantees of the fifteenth,

23 nineteenth, twenty-fourth, and twenty-sixth amend24 ments to the same end;
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1 (4) to enforce the right of the people to choose

2 their Representatives in Congress guaranteed by ar3 ticle 1 of the Constitution;

4 (5) to enforce the right of the people to choose

5 their Senators guaranteed by the seventeenth

6 amendment to the Constitution; and

7 (6) to regulate the manner of elections to Con8 gress.

9 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION AND ENFORCEMENT; SENATE.

10 Each State or the people thereof may prescribe the

11 maximum number of terms to which a person may be

12 elected or appointed to the Senate of the United States.

13 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION AND ENFORCEMENT; HOUSE OF

14 REPRESENTATIVES.

15 Each State or the people thereof may prescribe the

16 maximum number of terms to which a person may be

17 elected to the House of Representatives of the United

18 States.

Æ