Citizen Statesman Bob Dutton Takes Term-Limit Pledge

Press Release

Senator Bob Dutton announced today that he would adhere to the term limit pledge as set forth in the original Contract With America, the same term limit that now governs Legislators in the California Senate and Assembly, and only serve 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. A recent survey of likely voters in the 31st Congressional District revealed that over 46% of the respondents favored limiting House members to 6 terms.

In 1994 the Republican members of Congress realized that the citizens of America were tired of career politicians and politics as usual. The contract stated that "As Republican Members of the House of Representatives and as citizens seeking to join that body we propose not just to change its policies, but even more important, to restore the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives". The Citizen Legislature Act, which was included in the document, was an amendment to the Constitution that would have imposed 12-year term limits on members of the U.S. Congress. H.J.Res.73[6] was rejected by the U.S. House 227-204 (a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority, not a simple majority). In the June 2012 election, the voters of California amended the term limits on California Legislators to a maximum of 12 years served regardless of the house they serve in.

"Our nations' founding fathers did not envision that Congress would become a life-time career," stated Bob Dutton. "We should be electing citizens that are willing to serve our nation and then return to their communities and work to continue building our businesses and create jobs. That is why I vow to uphold the Citizen Legislature Act as set forth in the Contract With America and only serve 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives."

A new breed of citizen statesman, Bob Dutton has a proven ability to enact meaninful legislation and reform just as he did during his 10 years serving in the California Legislature. Dutton was selected to be Senate Republican Leader and worked to hold his caucus together during a very contentious budget negotiation. And he also worked across the aisle to bring much needed transportation funding to the Inland Empire, saved thousands of jobs by leading the fight to keep Amazon working with their network of small business afiliates and crafted legislation to bring much needed ADA lawsuit reform.

"My experience in local and state government will allow me to hit the ground running," said Dutton. "With a number of members that I served with in the State Legislature now serving in the House, we will be able to immediately get to work enacting meaningful legislation to put Americans back to work, help improve our economy and return America to prosperity."

Citizen statesman Bob Dutton is running for Congress in California's 31st District. He's a business owner who has lived in the district for almost 40 years and has represented portions of the district on the local and state level. Bob Dutton is the only candidate in the race that fully understands the unique issues facing people in the 31st Congressional District.

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