I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2115
To establish a national advisory referendum on limiting the terms of Members
of Congress at the general election of 1996.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 26, 1995
Mr. HOEKSTRA (for himself, Mrs. FOWLER, Mr. HILLEARY, Mr. SANFORD,
Mr. TATE, Mr. UPTON, Mr. HUTCHINSON, and Mr. HANCOCK) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House
Oversight
A BILL
To establish a national advisory referendum on limiting the
terms of Members of Congress at the general election
of 1996.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Voter Oppor-
tunity To Inform Congress Effectively (V.O.I.C.E.) on
Term Limits Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) the right of citizens of the United States to
vote is a fundamental right;
(2) the right of citizens of the United States to
have an effective voice in the decisionmaking proc-
esses of the Congress is grounded in the right to pe-
tition and is a fundamental part of American democ-
racy, and Congress should provide an opportunity
for citizens to express their views on important pub-
lic issues;
(3) there is an increasing public sentiment and
demand for limiting the terms of Members of Con-
gress; and
(4) voters in 23 States have already voted and/
or approved State laws to limit the terms of their
congressional delegations, and voters in other States
have expressed their interest in having the oppor-
tunity to also vote on term limits for Members of
Congress.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to give the citizens of every State the oppor-
tunity to have a voice on whether or not the terms
of Members of Congress should be limited; and
(2) to conduct a national nonbinding referen-
dum on term limits at the 1996 general election,
thereby having an opportunity to study the feasibil-
ity of conducting national nonbinding referenda on
other important issues in the future.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘nonbinding referendum’’ means
the placing on the general election ballot in every
congressional district and delegate or resident com-
missioner district in 1996 the advisory question de-
fined below, the results of which shall be properly
tabulated and certified as described herein, but
which results shall not be legally binding on any per-
son or institution;
(2) the term ‘‘advisory question’’ means the
National Advisory Referendum on Term Limits, the
language of which is contained in section 4(b) of this
Act;
(3) the term ‘‘general election’’ means the elec-
tion at which Federal officers are elected in 1996;
(4) the term ‘‘Federal office’’ means Members
of the United States House of Representatives and
Senators, Delegates to the United States Congress,
and Resident Commissioners of the territories of the
United States; and
(5) the term ‘‘State election agency’’ means the
official agency of each State and territory charged
with the legal responsibility for conducting general
elections within that jurisdiction.
SEC. 4. PROCEDURES FOR NATIONAL VOTER OPPORTUNITY
TO INFORM CONGRESS EFFECTIVELY ON
TERM LIMITS NONBINDING REFERENDUM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall have the effect of
placing on the 1996 general election ballot in every con-
gressional district, and delegate and/or resident commis-
sioner district, in the United States, the District of Colum-
bia and the territories of the United States, the advisory
question concerning term limits for Members of Congress.
(b) ADVISORY QUESTION; BALLOT TITLE AND LAN-
GUAGE.—Not later than June 1, 1996, the Clerk of the
United States House of Representatives and the Secretary
of the United States Senate shall jointly certify to the ap-
propriate State election agencies for inclusion on the 1996
general election ballot in each congressional district, the
following ballot title and question:
‘‘NATIONAL ADVISORY REFERENDUM ON TERM LIMITS
‘‘Should Congress approve a constitutional amend-
ment to limit the number of terms that a Member of the
United States House of Representatives and United
States Senator can serve in office?
‘‘Yes
No’’.
(c) PREPARATION OF BALLOTS.—