Washington, D.C., has become a symbol of dysfunction. Eighty-three percent of Americans support term limits on Congress, and approval of Congress sits at around 12%. The disconnect between the people's expectations and the reality of government is staggering.
As a former member of Congress, I have witnessed firsthand the problems that plague our system. A place focused on staying in power rather than getting things done, where officials trade stocks based on insider information and take meetings with special interests that harm working people. Corruption dominates, and the consequences are felt by constituents.
The effects are evident across the country, but nowhere more so than in Alaska. Once a place of abundance, it now struggles with skyrocketing prices, making it impossible for people to afford basic necessities like groceries and gas. This is not a red or blue problem; it's a result of a system where politicians have stopped feeling the consequences of their decisions.
The reason for the inaction on pressing issues like immigration, the cost of living, and housing is clear: the system rewards politicians for fighting about them rather than solving them. Career politicians have every incentive to keep the fight going and no real deadline to deliver.
Term limits are the solution. By imposing a 12-year limit on Congress, we can ensure that politicians are accountable to the people, not just their donors and special interests. This is not radical; it's accountability, the kind every working person already lives with.
The only people who oppose term limits are those who benefit from the current system: career politicians who have turned public service into a career advancement strategy, committee chairs who have been in Washington too long, and members who come home three times richer than when they left.
The system is rigged, and the result is partisan gridlock, institutional rot, and corrupt policies that benefit powerful special interests. You can't fix the cost of living without first fixing the people in charge of fixing it.
Alaska has led the country before on government reform and can do so again. Passing term limits at the state level will open a legal pathway through the courts, and as Alaska's next senator, I will fight to pass them federally. This will force Congress to work on our timeline, not theirs, and ensure that the voices of hardworking Americans are heard at the highest levels of government, not the voices of wealthy elites.
Working people across this country can't afford more of the same. We need a system that works for them, not career politicians and the shady special interests who keep them in their seats. Red or blue, we all benefit from a Congress that has a deadline.
