By Jerry McConnell ——Bio and Archives--January 31, 2016
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Americans for Constitutional Liberty ATTN: Peter J. Thomas, Chairman I am responding to your mailing of a “Citizens Petition To Congress” concerning a Constitutional Amendment on Congress’ Term Limits. Your overall objectives are laudable but “the devil is in the details.” I submit that your plan to amend the U. S. Constitution is necessary, while also being its most damaging to ultimate success. To allow more than one term for any Congressional Office holder is contrary to good order and fosters a continuation of a wealthy ruling class. Corruption, theft and disorder begin with “Reelection”. The Founding Fathers vision of a “citizen’s legislature” vanishes when the process of reelection enters the picture as that vision was intended to be one of a volunteer term and then back to the farm, store or other business. Reelection causes the individual’s quest for funds to lead to irregular and illegal means to divert taxpayer dollars to personal channels to get reelected and often making the lawmaker a lawbreaker. The ONLY remedy for preventing this revision of funds usage is to not have reelections; meaning one term only. Your proposal to amend the Constitution requiring U. S. Representatives to leave the House after serving a maximum of “three two-year terms” while U. S. Senators would leave the Senate after a maximum of two six-year terms. That proposal of very uneven maximums would be unfair to the House volunteers by exactly fifty percent less service and I believe a failing proposition. I also believe that the Representatives who finish up in six years, would probably volunteer to fill the second six year term of some of the Senators who would prefer to leave after six years. This very uneven distribution of time to serve between the two Congress units will more than likely be argued for a balance in both Congress units. This problem could be remedied before the first amendment is proposed to call for a balance of time for both Representatives and Senators having alike terms of three or four years for both. And the amendment should also state that ONLY one term for each Representative and Senator to be filled and then out. Also with a provision that a lapse of eight years must pass before the same person can serve again. If the obscene current salary is scrapped from its current $174,000 annual level to a daily fee, payable only if more than a set number of hours present is maintained, a great savings from current high levels would be realized. The one term provision should not have any retirement privileges in the monetary package, consisting only in actual “needs” reimbursements are involved. Great savings to America’s tax-paying citizens can be realized if the above is fairly adopted.
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Gerald A. “Jerry” McConnell, 92, of Hampton, died Sunday, February 19, 2017, at the Merrimack Valley Hospice House in Haverhill, Mass., surrounded by his loved ones. He was born May 27, 1924 in Altoona, Pa., the fifth son of the late John E. and Grace (Fletcher) McConnell.
Jerry served ten years with the US Marine Corps and participated in the landing against Japanese Army on Guadalcanal and another ten years with the US Air Force. After moving to Hampton in 1957 he started his community activities serving in many capacities.
He shared 72 years of marriage with his wife Betty P. (Hamilton) McConnell. In addition to his wife, family members include nieces and nephews.
McConnell’s e-book about Guadalcanal, “Our Survival was Open to the Gravest Doubts”