WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Representative Tum Burchett (R - 2nd District) introduced a new resolution that, if passed, would limit the number of terms that members of the U.S. Congress could serve. However, the bill would not apply to current members of Congress.
Burchett said he believed grandfathering the resolution in this way was the only way for it to work. He said he believed lawmakers and other parties would push to prevent the bill from passing if didn't include clauses exempting current members of Congress since it could jeopardize their own seats.
"There's always something going on behind the scenes," he said. "Miraculously, that bill will be studied over the summer or it will be delayed, or one group will do this or one group will do that. We'd never pass term limits, all we're going to do is have groups raising money to fight term limits."
He said lawmakers may vocally support term limits in Congress, but he said few take action to actually implement limits.
"We used to joke in Nashville that everyone loves term limits until it's their turn and then they want to study it for a few more terms," he said. "But the reality is that I have only been here for 3 years, so to discuss term limiting myself, I don't know what that would be."
In the resolution he proposed, future members of the House could only serve three 2-year terms. Senators would be able to maintain their seats for two 6-year terms at most.
The resolutions would amend the U.S. Constitution, placing it in one of the most foundational documents of the country.
Burchett also said that he would seek reelection in 2022.
During a conversation with WBIR, he also discussed using domestic fuel resources, such as nuclear power plants at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He also said that attempts to change aspects of Biden's infrastructure bill to address his concerns about fuel production mostly fell along party lines.
"I guarantee you that folks at Oak Ridge National Laboratory should have been sitting at that table, and they weren't," Burchett said.
During a conversation with Inside Tennessee, WBIR's regular show about politics, he also discussed other legislative priorities and said he was concerned about volatility in the U.S. He also discussed how he thought established political norms in the GOP and Democrats contributed to intense divisions across the nation.
The show will premier on Sunday at 9:30 a.m.