H.J.Res. 13House115th Congress (2017-2019)In Committee

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the number of terms a Representative or Senator may serve.

AI-Generated Summary

Updated April 15, 2026 at 10:58 AM UTC

H.J.Res. 13 proposes a constitutional amendment that would set term limits for members of Congress. It would bar anyone who has served two full terms in the Senate from being elected or appointed again, and bar anyone who has served four full terms in the House from being elected again. The amendment also defines how partial terms and terms that began before ratification are counted. If adopted, the rule would apply to all current and future Senators and Representatives.

Key Provisions

No person who has served two full Senate terms may be elected or appointed to the Senate again.
No person who has served four full House terms may be elected to the House again.
Partial terms only count toward the limit if they exceed three years for a Senate vacancy or one year for a House vacancy.
Any term that began before the amendment’s ratification does not count toward the term limits.

Legislative Activity

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2 earlier actions

HouseCommittee Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee

January 11, 2017

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

January 3, 2017

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

January 3, 2017

HouseCommittee

Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee

January 11, 2017

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.J.Res. 13 on the floor

1 Republican

Rep. Rod BlumR-IA-1 · May 23, 2017

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove my name as cosponsor of H.J. Res. 13.

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued January 3, 2017

115th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. J. RES. 13

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 3, 2017

Mr. O'Rourke submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the number of terms a Representative or Senator may serve.

That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:

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No person who has been a Senator for two terms shall again be eligible for election or appointment to the Senate.

No person who has been a Representative for four terms shall again be eligible for election to the House of Representatives.

For purposes of this article, any term a person serves as a Senator or Representative to fill a vacancy shall not be included in determining the number of terms that the person has been a Senator or Representative unless the period of time for which the person fills the vacancy is greater than three years in the case of a Senator or greater than one year in the case of a Representative.

For the purposes of this article, any term that began before the date of the ratification of this article shall not be included in determining the number of terms that a person has been a Senator or Representative.