This is a relational database of every currently-active politician ranked by total combined
time spent in Congress as a Senator and/or Representative.
Posted congressional durations increase automatically with the current time for everyone with a current term.
My argument is that a constitutional term limit amendment against Congress will be the surgical sniper shot
that restores the responsible balance of power between the states and the federal government.
Look how many people below build their careers on Capitol Hill without producing anything
of real value to the economy but taxes, waste, and debt...and nonsensical laws that lead to crime and moral decay.
They get desensitized to long-term good and resort to every imaginable
gimmick to preserve the only real employment investment they ever made: government.
| Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) | 51 years 261 days |
| Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) | 51 years 261 days |
| Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) | 39 years 258 days |
| Vice Pres. Joe Biden (D) | 36 years 21 days |
| Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) | 35 years 257 days |
| Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) | 35 years 257 days |
| Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) | 35 years 257 days |
| Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) | 35 years 257 days |
| Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) | 35 years 257 days |
| Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) | 35 years 256 days |
| Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) | 33 years 256 days |
| Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) | 33 years 256 days |
| Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) | 33 years 256 days |
| Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) | 31 years 256 days |
| Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) | 31 years 256 days |
| Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) | 31 years 256 days |
| Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) | 31 years 256 days |
| Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) | 29 years 255 days |
| Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) | 29 years 255 days |
| Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) | 29 years 255 days |
| Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) | 27 years 255 days |
| Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) | 27 years 255 days |
| Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) | 27 years 255 days |
| Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) | 27 years 255 days |
| Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) | 25 years 262 days |
| Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) | 25 years 255 days |
| Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) | 25 years 254 days |
| Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) | 25 years 254 days |
| Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) | 25 years 242 days |
| Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) | 25 years 138 days |
| Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) | 23 years 254 days |
| Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) | 23 years 254 days |
| Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) | 23 years 254 days |
| Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) | 23 years 251 days |
| Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) | 23 years 104 days |
| Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) | 21 years 253 days |
| Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) | 19 years 253 days |
| Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) | 19 years 253 days |
| Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) | 19 years 253 days |
| Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) | 19 years 253 days |
| Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) | 19 years 253 days |
| Rep. John Olver (D-MA) | 19 years 101 days |
| Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) | 17 years 306 days |
| Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) | 17 years 252 days |
| Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) | 17 years 252 days |
| Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) | 17 years 252 days |
| Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) | 17 years 252 days |
| Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) | 17 years 90 days |
| Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) | 15 years 252 days |
| Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) | 15 years 252 days |
| Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) | 15 years 252 days |
| Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) | 14 years 274 days |
| Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) | 13 years 251 days |
| Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) | 13 years 251 days |
| Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) | 13 years 251 days |
| Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) | 13 years 251 days |
| Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) | 11 years 251 days |
| Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) | 11 years 251 days |
| Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) | 11 years 251 days |
| Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) | 11 years 251 days |
| Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) | 11 years 251 days |
| Rep. Rush D. Holt, Jr. (D-NJ) | 11 years 251 days |
| Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) | 9 years 250 days |
| Sec. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) | 8 years 20 days |
| Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) | 7 years 283 days |
| Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) | 7 years 250 days |
| Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) | 6 years 2 days |
| Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) | 5 years 249 days |
| Pres. Barack Obama (D) | 3 years 318 days |
| Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) | 3 years 249 days |
| Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) | 3 years 249 days |
| Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) | 3 years 249 days |
| Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) | 1 year 248 days |
| Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) | 216 days |
I don't have time to dig through Wikipedia for every single person in one sitting,
but I'll add names as they gain notoriety in the news.
Consider that most term limits proposals limit congressmen to 12 years, and even that is deemed excessive.
I pondered adding customizable sorting by party, state, etc but I preferred to be able to cache the
rendered list for fast and frequent viewing.
