WASHINGTON, D.C. -- It is a legislative body steeped in centuries of tradition and procedure: the U.S. Congress.
While many people across the country have switched to working from home, leaders on Capitol Hill are pushing aside proposals to allow them to do the same - at least for now.
Earlier on in the outbreak, a group of House lawmakers sent a letter to leaders calling for a rule change so they could vote remotely. They warned of the health risks associated with returning to Washington, D.C. amid the outbreak.
However, that proposal faced resistance among House leaders.
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Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-1st District, noted there are logistical issues with that approach.
“So many people think that since technology is so sophisticated today that it should be easy, but it's not easy,” Butterfield said. “The network has to be protected, it must be safe from any type of cyberattacks.”
On Thursday, members of the U.S. House are scheduled to be back in the chamber to vote on a nearly $500 billion coronavirus aid bill.
House Democratic leaders also planned to hold a vote on an alternative remote voting option: proxy voting. Under that plan, a House member could empower a colleague to vote on their behalf. In that way, not all lawmakers would have to come to Capitol Hill.
Butterfield called this a good alternative, especially for those who have to travel far distances, potentially putting them in harm’s way.
“For them to get on an airplane, to fly into a hub like Chicago, change planes in Chicago, get on another plane, come to Washington,” he said. “There’s a better way to do this.”
However, Republicans resisted the idea, saying they were left out of conversations about the plan.
In an interview, Rep. Mark Walker, R-6th District, stressed it is important to be in D.C.
“There’s merit in both showing up and doing your job, but I also think there’s an image aspect of it,” he said. “If members of Congress can’t even go to Washington and take these important votes, what does that say at a time like this? I just think we need to step up, do our jobs, and show up.”
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The proxy voting proposal has since been tabled, at least for now. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly announced Wednesday she is calling off this week’s planned vote, setting up instead a bipartisan working group to further consider the idea.
In the upper chamber Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a proposal for temporary remote voting. That plan was pitched by a fellow Republican and Kentuckian: Sen. Rand Paul.