This is not exactly recent news, but I searched and didn't find anything about it here. I blogged it, but my site has pretty low traffic and this should probably be seen by a wider audience.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) introduced a bill to repeal the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution (which limits presidents to two terms) on Feb. 17, 2005. Cosponsors of the resolution are Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), Rep. F. James Sensebrenner (R-WI), Rep. Martin Sabo (D-MN) and Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ).
The text of the resolution is as follows:
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the 22nd amendment to the Constitution. (Introduced in House)
HJ 24 IH
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. J. RES. 24
Continued below the fold.
(cont'd)
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the 22nd amendment to the Constitution.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 17, 2005
Mr. HOYER (for himself, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. SABO, and Mr. PALLONE) introduced 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 repeal the 22nd amendment to the Constitution.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), 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:
`Article--
`The twenty-second article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is repealed.'.
Recent prior attempts:
Each time, it was a Democrat that proposed (in nearly identical language) the repeal of the 22
nd Amendment. Each time this has been brought up, it's been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and quietly died; I expect this one to meet the same fate.
That's not the point.
Steny Hoyer has proposed the repeal of the 22nd Amendment not once, not twice, but three times in five years. What does Hoyer have against this WWII-era legislation? More to the point, why on Earth are Democrats introducing this kind of legislation while a Republican is in the White House? The 22nd Amendment doesn't need to be repealed regardless of which party holds the Oval Office, but what kind of tactical and political tone-deafness would lead Democrats to suggest such a thing while the opposition is firmly entrenched in power?