House Lawmakers Consider Whether to Roll Back Proxy Voting; ‘Stop Lying’: Republicans Trash Colleagues Who Use Proxy Voting To ‘Go To A Fundraiser’; 'Think about resigning': Chip Roy slams proxy voting, calling it 'unconstitutional'

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

House lawmakers consider whether to roll back proxy voting:

Critics say pandemic measure abused by members

House lawmakers debated in a Rules Committee hearing Thursday whether to roll back their system of proxy voting, established two years ago at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-related measures in the lower chamber have been slowly lifting since President Biden talked about the virus no longer controlling American lives and to “stop looking at COVID as a partisan dividing line.”

The House majority established proxy voting to slow the spread of the virus by keeping members from air travel into Washington and by reducing the number of lawmakers in the chamber during floor votes.

The authorization for proxy voting is set to expire March 30, but could be extended again.

Those seeking to roll back proxy voting, all Republicans, say that while its intention was to protect lawmakers during the pandemic, members on both sides of the aisle are abusing the system to vote remotely for reasons beyond the novel coronavirus.

Lawmakers have voted by proxy while on the campaign trail, on a boat, and in the Congressional parking lot doing a media interview. Other members say that Congress needs to modernize its work rules to be flexible to its members.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, Wisconsin Republican, said the majority of lawmakers who proxy-voted were lying because the document they sign to excuse their absence relates to an “ongoing public health emergency.” --->READ MORE HERE

Screenshot via YouTube/HouseRules

‘Stop Lying’: Republicans Trash Colleagues Who Use Proxy Voting To ‘Go To A Fundraiser’:

Republican Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin called out fellow members of Congress who use proxy voting to attend events while claiming to be afraid of catching COVID-19.

First introduced in May 2020, proxy voting allows representatives to designate a colleague to cast votes for them. House Republicans led by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Roy filed a lawsuit against the practice, which members of both parties often use, but the Supreme Court ruled against them in January. McCarthy has promised to eliminate the practice if Republicans take back the House of Representatives.

Roy continued his argument that the scheme is unconstitutional during a House Rules Committee hearing Thursday.

“We all have an obligation to carefully examine the merits of the constitutional question raised by proxy voting. It is a legitimate constitutional question. We haven’t had any hearings on it,” Roy said. “It is my perspective that it is in fact unconstitutional for us to engage in proxy voting. I think the Constitution is pretty clear on it. If you read the text of the Constitution, words like ‘meeting,’ ‘assemble,’ ‘attendance,’ ‘absence,’ ‘recess,’ ‘sitting,’ ‘seat.’ It clearly requires members of Congress to be physically present in the House or Senate chamber.” --->WATCH and READ MORE HERE

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+++++'Think about resigning': Chip Roy slams proxy voting, calling it 'unconstitutional'+++++

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