Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Monday morning that he is working with the Florida Legislature to certify four Constitutional amendments under Article V, including term limits for members of Congress.
A press release from the Governor's office reads, “Today, Governor Ron DeSantis called for constitutional reforms to hold the U.S. Congress accountable and, in doing so, protect the people of Florida from a reckless federal government.”
Furthermore, “Florida calls for the following proposed amendments: a balanced federal budget, congressional term limits, equal laws for the public and members of Congress, and line-item veto authority for the President of the United States.”
The Florida Governor claims that these amendments “will incentivize better behavior by those in D.C.” He stated that “Washington, D.C. works for itself, not the American people.”
DeSantis spoke on the urgency to roll out these new reforms.
Proud to announce that I am working with the FL Legislature to certify the following four constitutional amendments under Article V:
1. Term limits 2. Balanced budget requirement 3. Line-item veto and 4. Requirement that all laws apply to members of Congress w/o exemptions pic.twitter.com/gkLw1KYTw9— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 29, 2024
“The reality is Washington is not going to reform itself. We can hope to elect better people, but the incentives are not good, and they’re not good to be able to produce good results,” DeSantis noted.
According to the governor, “The founding fathers never envisioned that we’d have a separate ruling class that would govern itself separate and apart from the people. They never envisioned that they would be adding this type of debt, and they really never envisioned that people would want to be in Congress for 30, 40 years.”
DeSantis continued, saying, “These amendments are all designed to use our power as individual states under article V of the constitution to force change in Washington and to take power away from the entrenched DC elites, and return it to its rightful owners – which is we the American people,” DeSantis asserted.
Florida’s Speaker of the House, Paul Renner (R), supports these amendments, affirming that they are proven.
“In Florida, we’ve proven that a balanced budget amendment and term limits work. That’s why we’ve passed resolutions urging Congress to enact them on the federal level. We will pass additional resolutions that support amendments prohibiting Congress from excluding its Members from any law it passes and giving the President of the United States line-item veto authority on the federal budget. It’s time Congress tries things the Florida Way,” said Renner.
President of the Florida Senate, Kathleen Passidomo (R), is in support as well. She expressed that these rules have been successful in her state of Florida.
“The line item veto, term limits, and balanced budget requirements have worked well here in Florida, and help our state guard against the rampant corruption, abuses of power, and overspending we see in Washington,” said Passidomo.
She added, “Our founding fathers envisioned elected service as a short-term sacrifice, not a means of personal enrichment in which elected officials can pick and choose which laws to follow. The American people are fed up. With these initiatives, Florida is sending a strong message that the federal government must be accountable to the people.”
