SCORE Act scorched. House GOP leaders have pulled the SCORE Act from this week’s floor schedule, according to multiple sources. The proposed legislation would regulate how college athletes can earn money.
Republicans have struggled to pass this bill multiple times this Congress despite support from the NCAA and the White House. The Congressional Black Caucus came out against the measure on Monday, saying it can’t back legislation “benefiting major athletic institutions that continue to remain silent while Black voting rights and Black political power are being systematically dismantled.”
Term limits latest. Democratic voters around the country are clamoring for new party leadership. Older Democratic lawmakers are facing political and electoral pressure like never before.
But there’s little chance the House Democratic Caucus will impose term limits on their committee leaders next Congress, showing that the anti-octogenarian movement stops at the walls of the Capitol.
It also presents an uncomfortable reality for younger House Democrats despondent at the prospect of potentially waiting years or even decades to snag senior posts on panels. And it’s yet another example of how the desire for generational change among Democrats is running up against a caucus that’s resistant to reform.
There aren’t the votes inside the Democratic Caucus for a rules change instituting term limits on committee leaders, per our conversations with dozens of House Democrats over the past two weeks.
Some Democrats said a recent spate of challenges to committee leaders proves such term limits aren’t necessary. Others argued that weakening seniority — a coveted tool for minority lawmakers in particular — is misguided in the wake of the fresh attacks on the Congressional Black Caucus in the post-Callais world.
“Don’t change the rules when we’re in a position where we see what the Supreme Court and some of the southern states are trying to do to take power away,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.), the top House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrat.
The CBC, along with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has historically argued that one of the few ways underrepresented groups can amass power is by leveraging seniority and taking over key committee leadership roles.
“If you suddenly did six-year terms, and you lose Greg Meeks, Maxine Waters, Bennie Thompson and Bobby Scott all of a sudden, that’d be a devastating blow,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said. Meeks is 72, Waters is 87, Thompson is 78 and Scott is 79.
Winds of change. House Republicans have six-year aggregate term limits for their top committee posts, whether in the majority or minority. Some Democrats want to follow suit.
“Republicans have done a really great job of cultivating leadership across their conference, and we have not,” Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) said. “It’s important that we have some limits on how long someone should be in a leadership role on a committee.”
“Our system should have change and new faces,” added Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.). “I think this would be a huge way to boost trust and show that we’re willing to limit ourselves.”
“People are talking about it,” Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) said about committee term limits. “I’m sure if we’re in the majority, there’s a lot of different things we need to do in terms of fixing this institution, and we can address a lot of that in the rules package.”
The Olds. Because there are no term limits, House Democratic committee leaders skew older. Two Democratic ranking members are in their 80s, with another seven in their 70s and seven in their 60s.
A number of Democrats have helmed House panels for lengthy stretches. This brings them highly coveted staffers (Congress’ most valuable possession) and media coverage.
The best example is retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (N.Y.), who’s been the top Democrat on the Small Business Committee since 1998.
Thompson has led Homeland Security Democrats since 2005. Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.) has been the top Democrat on Armed Services since 2010. Waters has led Financial Services Democrats since 2013. Scott has been the top Education and Workforce Democrat since 2015.
Younger Democrats have unsuccessfully tried to institute term limits in recent years. In 2022, a proposed caucus rules change failed 138-63 in an internal vote. House Democrats once had six-year term limits for committee chairs, but those limits were scrapped when Democrats took back the majority in 2007.
The issue also reared its head following the 2018 midterms, but Democrats — led then by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — decided against instituting term limits.
No need to change. Opponents of term limits argue that members are free to challenge any committee leader in the current format. Members point to notable turnover in top panels since Hakeem Jeffries took over as Democratic leader after the 2022 midterms. Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) and Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) have all replaced older committee leaders in recent years.
Unsurprisingly, committee ranking members — potential chairs next year — advanced this argument to us.
“If a lot of people don’t like you, they’ll turn you out, the same way we do with elections,” said 83-year-old Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), the top Appropriations Democrat.
“I get the idea that people get frustrated,” added Rep. Richie Neal (D-Mass.), the 77-year-old Ways and Means Committee ranking member. “But I was frustrated for a long time, too, until I made my way up the ladder.”
AOC’s take. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a lawmaker who swept into office in a 2018 primary challenge predicated on generational change, said she was “open to the conversation” but wouldn’t support committee term limits.
“There’s a tremendous amount of institutional knowledge that absolutely plays to our advantage,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We also have to make sure that we are cultivating younger members of our caucus, and that doesn’t happen when there’s no opportunity.”
