Hastings pressed on term-limit 'contract'

U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco, campaigned in favor of term limits more than a decade ago, but now finds himself on the other side of the issue as he seeks his eighth term.

During a debate in Pasco on Wednesday, Democratic challenger George Fearing accused Hastings of not sticking to his original commitment to term limits when he first ran for office in 1994.

"Doc Hastings signed on to the 'Contract with America,' which called for term limits of six terms," Fearing said by telephone Thursday. "When he ran, that was one of his campaign themes, abiding by the Contract with America and term limits."

Hastings, who disputed the claim Wednesday, could not be reached for comment Thursday. His chief of staff, Todd Young, defended him Thursday, saying that while Hastings supported term limits when it was a hot topic in the early 1990s, he never committed to serving a specific amount of time.

In 1994, Newt Gingrich and other GOP candidates signed the Contract with America promise to serve no more than three terms.

Hastings said he didn't sign that pledge but that he followed through on his promise to vote in support of a constitutional amendment that would have limited congressional terms, but the measure failed.

"He did vote for that, but it did not pass," Young said. "What he didn't do -- which many candidates did do -- was sign a pledge to limit his term."

Newspaper coverage indicates that Hastings did make a verbal commit-ment.

According to an Oct. 30, 1994 article in the Herald-Republic, he told the newspaper's editorial board that he would serve no more than five terms, or 10 years in Congress.

"What we have gotten into in this country is people are rebelling against the notion we have a political class and that is their career. That is not what our founding fathers had in mind," Hastings told the board.

A March 30, 1995 article also said Hastings had pledged during the 1994 campaign to limit his congressional career to five terms, or 10 years. Hastings was being asked about term limits as it was being debated on the House floor.

Young said he disagrees with the newspaper articles.

Young, who began working for the congress-man in 1998, said he believes Hastings' refer-ence to "five terms" was only to make the point that a member of Congress needs to serve at least five terms in order to be effective.

"I do agree he did talk about the subject of five terms, but not that it was a hard and fast, 'this is what I'm going to do,'" Young said.