When the Republican-led budget resolution went to the floor late last month, there was one individual that drew quite a bit of attention: Sam Pettersen.

But Sam Pettersen isn’t a member of Congress; in fact, he’s a newborn. He traveled with his mom, Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo., across the country at just 4 weeks old so she could cast her vote against the measure, which was passed by a razor thin margin.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t given the opportunity to vote remotely after giving birth, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from being here to represent my constituents,” said Pettersen, standing at the front of the House floor, holding baby Sam in her arms.

What You Need To Know

  • Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo. introduced her Proxy Voting for New Parents Resolution earlier this year before giving birth to her son, Sam

  • The resolution proposes up to 12 weeks of proxy voting for new parents so they don't have to make the impossible choice of representing their constituents or taking care of their newborn

  • The resolution has bipartisan support, and cleared a significant hurdle earlier this month: securing 218 signatures to circumvent Republican leadership, which is opposed to the measure, to force a vote

  • Per the House rules, the resolution must get a floor vote within 7 legislative days, giving the chamber through the beginning of April to vote on the measure

Before she gave birth, Pettersen introduced a resolution to allow for proxy voting for new parents for up to 12 weeks.

“Our government works best when the life experiences of the American people are represented,” said Pettersen in a statement in January. “Enabling new parents to vote by proxy while they spend time recovering and taking care of their newborn baby is an important step in modernizing Congress and addressing one of the significant barriers young parents face to serving.”  

Pettersen, who became the 13th sitting member of Congress to give birth, was joined by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who gave birth to her son in 2023, as a co-sponsor. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. and Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., also signed on to co-sponsor the resolution.

Luna introduced a similar measure in 2024, but it never got a vote in the House after Speaker Mike Johnson said he believed proxy voting was unconstitutional and that members would take advantage of it. But Luna said this iteration removed a procedural step to comply with Johnson’s constitutional concerns, and that it’s time to bring the measure to the floor.

“This is a case-by-case basis specifically for new members who have given birth and or have a spouse that has given birth to a child,” said Luna. “It’s in line with the Constitution. He knows that, I know that. I’m right, he’s not right. So we’re getting it passed.” 

The House utilized proxy voting during the height of COVID-19 to try and prevent members from getting sick. But as the pandemic eased, some members voted by proxy to attend political events rather than vote in person in Washington. Then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy ended the practice in 2023. 

Earlier this month, the resolution to allow remote voting for new parents cleared a significant hurdle, securing 218 signatures for a discharge petition to give Pettersen and Luna the power to force a vote on the measure. 12 Republicans joined Democrats to get the resolution to the magic number.

Part of that increased support for the proxy voting resolution was the inclusion of fathers in Pettersen’s iteration of the measure. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., who chairs the Dads Caucus, helped whip votes for the measure. Gomez was opposed to Luna’s original measure, which left new dads out.

“If we want a Congress as representative of America, you have to make it easier for parents to do their jobs but also care for their families in this. And that applies to both men and women,” he told Spectrum News. “We don’t want to let fathers off the hook that they don’t have to go back to help their spouse. So we said if the bill changes to include fathers, we will be happy to support it.”

Gomez said every member of the Dads Caucus signed on to support the discharge petition but one, who was edged out by a Republican to become the 218th signature.

Not only would the bill allow new parents to spend time with their newborn while still representing their constituents, but Shilpa Phadke, the former Deputy Director for the White House Gender Policy Council under former President Joe Biden said it may help encourage more young women to run for Congress.

“It’s not a 9 to 5 job. They’re both expected to be in Washington and also be at home in their district. That’s a huge challenge if you have young children and you’re trying to navigate, being in both places at the same time,” explained Phadke. 

 Per the rules of the House, once a discharge petition has the necessary signatures, it must be voted on within seven legislative days. Per the current House calendar, the vote would need to occur by early April. 

Spectrum News’ Corina Cappabianca and Maddie Gannon contributed to this report.

“It's not a 9 to 5 job. They're both expected to be in Washington and also be at home in their district. That's a huge challenge if you have young children and you're trying to navigate, being in both places at the same time,” explained Phadke. 

 Per the rules of the House, once a discharge petition has the necessary signatures, it must be voted on within 7 legislative days. Per the current House calendar, the vote would need to occur by early April. 

Spectrum News’ Corina Cappabianca and Maddie Gannon contributed to this report.