Republican leaders, led by Ohio Rep. John A. Boehner, are protesting a move by Democrats to end the six-year term limits on committee chairmen and roll back other protections for the minority party.
Democrats are expected to include these changes – which would rewrite reforms first established by the GOP in 1995 — in a biennial rules package that will be among the first measures the House takes up later this week.
Why is this a big deal in Minnesota?
Jim Oberstar is Chair of the House Transportation Committee. He’s also 74. If term limits remained in effect, Oberstar would have been forced from his chairmanship after the 2012 elections. That would have been a strong incentive for him to retire at that time. But now he won’t have to give up his committee, and he can stick around as long as he wants to. Same goes for Colin Peterson, who also would have had to give up his gavel of the Ag Committee in 2013. Thus the odds of an open congressional seat in the 7th or 8th congressional district in the next few cycles has just decreased significantly. Tony Sertich will just have to wait.
There are also redistricting consequences. Minnesota will probably lose a seat in the 2010 redistricting process. If Oberstar or Peterson had announced their retirement before the new maps were drawn, it might have been tempting to collapse their districts, because that would allow the other House members to keep their seats. But with these two senior members sticking around for at least a few more years, it seems unlikely that there will be any open seats in 2010 or 2012 (with the usual caveats about making predictions four years out).
As usual, the GOP is NOT telling the truth.
Those “Rules Changes” instituting term limits were rammed through by Newt Gingrich and his Contract With America - and it directly led to The K Street Project, the Abramoff Scandal, and other ethical abuses by the GOP.
By limiting terms as a committee chair, GOP “Leadership” shifted power from committees to themselves.
And again, led directly to why GOP now stands for GreedOverPrinciples.
I don’t really care for term limits because, as Tommy points out, the power shifts elsewhere. Term limit legislators, power shifts to lobbyists and career staffers. Term limit chairmen, power shifts to party leadership. That said, canning term limits after they’ve been in place seems a bit scuzzy, too. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, I guess.
Great post, Zack — Yeah, if Jim Oberstar stays healthy he could stay there a long, long time. Up-and-comers in the 8th CD might have to make other plans.
~AB
I live in the 6th. You know, the one where 10% voted for “Bob Anderson.”
Take my district, please.
Thanks TwoPutt. I’d forgotten that aspect of it.
On the face of it, it is easy to be wound up about what appears to be just bolstering the committee-ships.
A little bit self-serving all the way around. We need a better way to do this which addresses all concerns.
The idea of making these political careers go on & on is not well advised. 6 years is probably too short.
You want seasoned people without creating fiefdoms.
The alternative of continuing to empower the K street lobbyists is worse. Those people are not up for election.
Rolling back terms limits entirely - I dunno. its good for some of these to change hands.
The implication though, is that if one cannot have their committee leadership positions, that one would want to
pick up their marbles & go home.
I am NOT thrilled about either choice on its face, even if it works to Minnesota favor.
I can’t assess all the implications to make a educated decision (as though we had a real choice in this).
The statement that the power merely migrates elsewhere is only too true.