In his first congressional campaign, Shadegg promised he would abide by the six-year limit set by Arizona voters.

Mr. Gingrich said he favored a 12-year limit and would vote against the six-year limit that a new Republican poll shows most voters favoring.

Most of the 73 freshman Republicans support the six-year limit.

Ms. Montells appealed, pointing to the use of the six-year limit in some earlier discrimination suits.

Their beef: the arbitration requests should not be honored, and the six-year limit is a six-year limit, period.

But arbitration directors are becoming more flexible on the six-year limit.

He retired in January 2001, when the House Republicans' six-year limit on committee chairmanships took effect.

The decree would also allow judges greater flexibility in extending the pretrial detention, as long as it does not exceed the full six-year limit.

The Republican pollsters who said during the campaign that voters preferred six-year limits seemed to back off their own findings.

Mr. Bonior dismissed the six-year limit as "an obscure House rule."