Facing a primary challenge from an opponent who supports term limitations, U.S. Rep. Harris Fawell (R-Naperville) delivered his own plan for change Monday, in the form of a bill that would alter committee operations in the House of Representatives.
In a meeting with reporters at his Clarendon Hills office, Fawell announced the introduction of the Comprehensive Congressional Reform Act of 1992. He said the seven-part bill would cut operating costs and adjust the House`s existing committee structure to reduce what he called ”ownership interest” by congressmen with long service records.
Fawell is seeking his fifth term in the House. He is opposed in the Republican primary by retired health care administrator Stuart Wesbury of Oak Brook.
One of the major planks of Wesbury`s campaign is the demand for congressional term limitations.
Although Fawell has declared that since congressmen have to run for re-election every two years, voters already have the power to limit terms, he said his bill would limit service on ”any standing committee to six years.” He also said a third of committee memberships would be required to change every two years.
There currently are 22 standing committees and 240 subcommittees in the House.
Fawell`s bill also calls for a 50 percent reduction in mail costs and a 10 percent reduction in office expenses for every representative. The bill also would prohibit Congress from exempting itself from laws, such as the Civil Rights Act, that it places on the private sector.
Fawell said his plan isn`t a campaign ploy but represents a compilation of changes he has fostered since first arriving in Washington.
”The whole system can be improved,” he said. ”We all know that in Congress. We all understand it.”
Republican representatives from Florida, California, Missouri, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas have agreed to co-sponsor the bill, Fawell said.
