The House will begin advancing an historic change to the rules that would, for the first time, allow proxy voting on legislation.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democratic lawmakers about the plan during a Monday conference call after announcing the House would return to legislative session on May 4.
The California Democrat fielded strong criticism from lawmakers on the call about the decision to reconvene next week, including from senior Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, who called the move “dangerous,” according to a Democratic source who was on the call.
Democrats warned Pelosi there are many lawmakers who can’t remain in Washington, D.C., for weeks at a time, which would likely be required in order to avoid the frequent back-and-forth travel that is not recommended due to the coronavirus threat, particularly for older members who are more vulnerable to the disease.
Lawmakers asked if they would be tested for the virus, and Pelosi said they would not.
LINK: Moderate Dems petition for vote on proxy voting |
The Senate will also reconvene next week. There are no immediate plans to consider remote voting, although a Homeland Security subcommittee will start examining such a change.
Pelosi's decision to move ahead with remote voting in the House cuts short an effort to work with Republicans on the change. She abandoned a plan to vote on a rules change last week when House Republican leaders said they would not support it and would call on their rank and file to oppose it.Read the rest of the story HERE and follow link below to a related story:
Moderate Democrats petition for vote on proxy voting
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