with that, i recognize senator hirano for her opening statement. sen. hirono: thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you for all witnesses for coming this afternoon to discuss whether or not our short term limits are an effective way to mprove our government. i know senator cruz believes term limits will help solve the problems we have with corruption, crime using and accountability in congress. but there are easier and more effective ways to connect the government more directly and honestly to the people. in my view, the most effective term limits are elections. and the most knowledgeable erm limiters are voters. we should be working to ensure more americans are able to ote. by making voting easier in the united states, not harder. by making voter registration as simple as possible. by stopping unnecessary and discriminatory purging of voter rolls. by making it easier for people to vote early or allowing them to vote by mail. i would say, if the american people were asked whether they support the aforementioned points, probably, we would find that a vast majority would support t