House Democrats are reticent to return to work in Congress, first trying to stall the end of Congressional recess and now proposing a “proxy voting” system that would let Members who are able to return to Washington, D.C., cast ballots for those who prefer to shelter-in-place in their home districts. But House Republicans now say they’ll resist those efforts and demand Democrats return to Congress as “essential workers” if they plan on passing legislation.
Business Insider reports that Congress, despite being about as “essential” to the functions of American government as an entity can get, is not forcing its Members back to the nation’s capital, and House Democratic leadership, under the guidance of House majority leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), told their caucus last week that no Member of Congress should plan to return to work in person absent an “emergency.”
This week, House Democrats fell under criticism for opposing an extension to the Paycheck Protection Program from afar, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was skewered for doing cable news hits on the subject from in front of a $24,000 SubZero side-by-side refrigerator/freezer in her San Francisco, California, home while American small businesses scrambled for cash.
Instead of mandating a return, though, Hoyer proposed Wednesday that Congress could vote by proxy, with younger Members, who are less at risk of contracting COVID-19, casting ballots for older Members who are better off sheltering in place.
“This week, Rep. Steny Hoyer, the House majority leader, has proposed changing House rules to allow proxy voting, which would allow Members to vote on behalf of absent colleagues,” BI says. “The vote to change the rules could happen as soon as Thursday morning, he told Members in a letter.”
“There are some Members who are particularly vulnerable to either themselves because of some preexisting condition or they’re caring for relatives, moms or dads, or others, and they are concerned about coming and then having to quarantine themselves for 14 days when they get back. So that’s a real concern,” Hoyer said.
But House Republicans say that’s simply not good enough. If Congress cannot find a way to pipe in Members from across the country, then the nation’s leaders should be required to do their job in person.
Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) is leading the opposition, telling members of the media Wednesday, that the thought of Congress voting by proxy is “a complete overreach” and flies in the face of how Congress operates. “I just think is absurd and I think it silences individual members of Congress who were sent here to cast votes on behalf of our constituents,” David said.
“All the essential work of Congress — that is any step necessary in order to enact legislation, the task of legislating itself — can be done only by members who are voting and present in their respective legislative chamber, either this Senate or the House of Representatives,” Rep. Mike Lee (R-UT) added. “This is a non-delegable duty.”
Hoyer responded by saying the body will experiment with technological options but made no guarantees.
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