North Dakota should set age limits for serving in Congress

The news has been filled with reports of aging members of Congress and their health. Sen. Diane Feinstein of California, age 89, missed over two months of work. There have been reports of her cognitive decline and failure to perform duties. A recent video showed a staff member telling her how to vote, while she was unaware of what was going on.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, age 81, recently froze for a long period of time when speaking to reporters, appearing disoriented. This followed a hospitalization earlier this year. Many in Congress serve decades and have a hard time knowing when to give up their power and retire. Are politicians capping their careers truly representing the best interests of their constituents?

Retire Congress North Dakota seeks to enact a state constitutional amendment to establish max age limits for anyone elected to Congress from North Dakota. The proposal states no person may be elected or appointed to serve a term (or portion thereof) in the U.S. Senate or House if they would attain 81 years of age by Dec. 31 of the year prior to the term ending. This sets a maximum age at 80, far above 64, the median age of American retirement.

Our founding fathers envisioned citizen-legislators, not lifelong jobs in Congress. Perhaps if we had term limits, age limits would not be necessary. Since Congress has refused to address either, we’re taking action. The people of our state are within their 10th Amendment rights to propose this measure.

The U.S. Constitution already prohibits candidates from being elected for the U.S. Senate under 30 years old, or under 25 years old to the House. If there are general characteristics of people at a young age to consider with public service, then there can be considerations at advanced age. North Dakota judges lose their retirement benefits if they don’t retire by 73. In all, 31 states have age limits on state judges, while two states remove benefits at a certain age.

The median age in Congress is above the median age in America. Representing constituents, reviewing nominations, overseeing government agencies and international agreements demand mental alertness. With age comes health and cognitive decline, which invariably lead to absences and policy concerns.

North Dakota can lead the way by setting age limits for Congress – a long-needed, commonsense reform.

Hendrix resides in Fargo.