SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), center, looks at Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), right, as McGovern speaks during a news conference on Monday, March 9, 2020. (Photo: Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)
House to Vote on Allowing Members to Use Proxies, Opening Door for Full Remote Voting
"We ought to use this time as an opportunity to prepare for Congress to be able to work according to its full capabilities even with social and physical distancing guidelines in place."
Apr 21, 2020
The House is expected on Thursday to vote on a measure allowing members to vote remotely via proxies for the duration of the coronavirus outbreak crisis, a proposal that could be a solution to legislative gridlock exacerbated by the House's extended recess due to the pandemic which has made it unsafe for Congress to meet.
Rules Committee chair Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) explained the proxy rules change to the New York Times in an interview last week.
"This is what we're comfortable with doing now that I think poses the least amount of risk," McGovern told the Times. "For those who feel they want to be here and engage in debate, they can come back, but for those members who are in states where they are instructed not to leave their homes or not to travel, they can still participate."
House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), in a letter to the chairs of the House Committee on Rules and the House Committee on Administration, said he sees the implementation of the new rule as a first step in virtual, remote voting for Congress.
"Beyond implementing the proxy voting as a first step, we ought to use this time as an opportunity to prepare for Congress to be able to work according to its full capabilities even with social and physical distancing guidelines in place," wrote Hoyer.
Hoyer acknowledged challenges and security risks to the process, but expressed confidence that lawmakers could find a solution.
But, as the Washington Post reported Tuesday, there are technological hurdles in front of representatives.
"Many members of Congress probably couldn't handle two-step authentication from their laptops," a senior House Democratic aide told the Post. "We have conference calls where people can't even mute themselves or get off mute. There's a big tech gap that's going to be problematic."
And even if the House can manage to make the virtul meetings work, the aide added, there are Constitutional concerns.
"If this is challenged in the courts and we've passed 40 laws that have been enacted and the Supreme Court invalidates them all," said the aide, "that's a nightmare."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The House is expected on Thursday to vote on a measure allowing members to vote remotely via proxies for the duration of the coronavirus outbreak crisis, a proposal that could be a solution to legislative gridlock exacerbated by the House's extended recess due to the pandemic which has made it unsafe for Congress to meet.
Rules Committee chair Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) explained the proxy rules change to the New York Times in an interview last week.
"This is what we're comfortable with doing now that I think poses the least amount of risk," McGovern told the Times. "For those who feel they want to be here and engage in debate, they can come back, but for those members who are in states where they are instructed not to leave their homes or not to travel, they can still participate."
House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), in a letter to the chairs of the House Committee on Rules and the House Committee on Administration, said he sees the implementation of the new rule as a first step in virtual, remote voting for Congress.
"Beyond implementing the proxy voting as a first step, we ought to use this time as an opportunity to prepare for Congress to be able to work according to its full capabilities even with social and physical distancing guidelines in place," wrote Hoyer.
Hoyer acknowledged challenges and security risks to the process, but expressed confidence that lawmakers could find a solution.
But, as the Washington Post reported Tuesday, there are technological hurdles in front of representatives.
"Many members of Congress probably couldn't handle two-step authentication from their laptops," a senior House Democratic aide told the Post. "We have conference calls where people can't even mute themselves or get off mute. There's a big tech gap that's going to be problematic."
And even if the House can manage to make the virtul meetings work, the aide added, there are Constitutional concerns.
"If this is challenged in the courts and we've passed 40 laws that have been enacted and the Supreme Court invalidates them all," said the aide, "that's a nightmare."
The House is expected on Thursday to vote on a measure allowing members to vote remotely via proxies for the duration of the coronavirus outbreak crisis, a proposal that could be a solution to legislative gridlock exacerbated by the House's extended recess due to the pandemic which has made it unsafe for Congress to meet.
Rules Committee chair Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) explained the proxy rules change to the New York Times in an interview last week.
"This is what we're comfortable with doing now that I think poses the least amount of risk," McGovern told the Times. "For those who feel they want to be here and engage in debate, they can come back, but for those members who are in states where they are instructed not to leave their homes or not to travel, they can still participate."
House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), in a letter to the chairs of the House Committee on Rules and the House Committee on Administration, said he sees the implementation of the new rule as a first step in virtual, remote voting for Congress.
"Beyond implementing the proxy voting as a first step, we ought to use this time as an opportunity to prepare for Congress to be able to work according to its full capabilities even with social and physical distancing guidelines in place," wrote Hoyer.
Hoyer acknowledged challenges and security risks to the process, but expressed confidence that lawmakers could find a solution.
But, as the Washington Post reported Tuesday, there are technological hurdles in front of representatives.
"Many members of Congress probably couldn't handle two-step authentication from their laptops," a senior House Democratic aide told the Post. "We have conference calls where people can't even mute themselves or get off mute. There's a big tech gap that's going to be problematic."
And even if the House can manage to make the virtul meetings work, the aide added, there are Constitutional concerns.
"If this is challenged in the courts and we've passed 40 laws that have been enacted and the Supreme Court invalidates them all," said the aide, "that's a nightmare."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.