Americans of all political persuasions believe that Congress is broken. Is it any wonder why? Regardless of which party is in control, it often feels like nothing gets done.

In a recent Harvard/Harris Poll, only 35% of Americans approved of the job Congress was doing — and that was considered a positive result. This reflects just how far public trust in Congress has eroded.

One major reason is the lack of turnover in Congress. The average tenure of a current House member is over 10 years, and for U.S. Senators, it’s more than 12 years. Once elected, members of Congress are rarely unseated — except by retirement or, tragically, death. Even in so-called “wave” elections like those in 1994 and 2006, over 90% of incumbents were re-elected.

Congress is also aging. The current Congress is one of the oldest in American history. When Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, the 80-year-old Democratic Whip, announced he would not seek re-election after more than 40 years in Congress, it was said his departure would make way for a younger generation in the Democratic Senate leadership. Yet many of the names floated as successors are in their 60s — an age when many Americans are considering retirement. In Congress, however, it’s considered the right age to ascend. And this is not just a Democratic issue. Senator Durbin is a relative youngster compared to Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, age 91, who began his political career during the Eisenhower Administration and has served in Congress since 1975.

This isn’t to suggest that age alone should disqualify someone from office. But when advanced age is combined with decades in power, it creates the conditions for the dysfunction we see today.

The solution? Congressional term limits.

Opponents argue that term limits are a radical idea and that elections already serve that function. But let’s examine those claims.

First, the idea that elections are sufficient fails under scrutiny. According to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, only 69 of the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are considered competitive.

Even in those districts, challengers face steep odds against well-funded incumbents. In the Senate, only about ten seats are truly competitive. Consider that Kansas hasn’t elected a Democratic Senator since 1932, and Hawaii hasn’t elected a Republican Senator since 1970 — meaning the state has had a Democratic Senator for 48 of the 66 years it’s been part of the Union. That’s not competition; that’s entrenchment.

As for the argument that term limits are radical — history suggests otherwise. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was subject to term limits. Many of the Founders supported the idea when drafting the Constitution, including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee, and George Mason.

Public support is overwhelming. According to a poll by RMG Research, 83% of Americans support congressional term limits — including 78% in Pennsylvania. Yet despite this, Congress is unlikely to impose limits on itself.

But there is another way.

Under Article V of the Constitution, states have the authority to call a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments — such as congressional term limits. Once enough states join the call, Congress can be bypassed, and a proposed amendment can be sent directly to the states for ratification.

This year, South Dakota and Indiana added their names to the growing list of states like Ohio, Michigan, and Arizona calling for such a convention. Pennsylvania hopefully will be next.

Since both the president (executive) and Congress (legislative) are co-equal branches of our government, it makes complete sense that both should have term limits.

In Harrisburg, State Representative Jared Solomon has introduced House Concurrent Resolution 111 (HCR 111), which would add Pennsylvania to the list of states calling for a national convention to propose a congressional term limits amendment. The resolution will be assigned to a committee for a vote before moving to the House floor. If passed by both the state House and Senate, Pennsylvania will formally join the effort to bring term limits to Congress.

Let your legislators in Harrisburg know: it’s time to end the gridlock and dysfunction in Washington. It’s time to impose congressional term limits.

Andy Dinniman and John Eichelberger are Pennsylvania state co-chairs for U.S. Term Limits and former Pennsylvania state senators