Why would you end a program that allows you to vacation and still gets paid by voters? If you were the Democrat Speaker of the House, you wouldn’t. Rep. Nancy Pelosi has extended proxy voting until after the election. The reason she gave is the continued “public health emergency.”
Hey, Pelosi, Biden’s calling with a message that the pandemic is over.
We’re not joking when we say you can vacation while you pretend to work. Fox News reported that Iowa Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne voted for the “Inflation Reduction Act” by proxy on Aug. 12 as she vacationed in Europe.
Following the measure’s passage in the House, a tweet from Axne’s Twitter account read: “PASSED! I just voted YES on the #InflationReductionAct – a historic bill to lower health care costs, cut prescription drug prices, lower the cost of energy, and much more.”Proxy voting was instituted amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the resolution establishing the process, to avoid interpersonal contact among members. To vote by proxy, a House member must submit a letter that states they are “unable to physically attend proceedings in the House Chamber due to the ongoing public health emergency” and designate someone to vote for them.
Don’t worry she wasn’t the only one—158 lawmakers decided to vote by proxy on the $700 billion “Inflation Reduction” Act.
The LA Times published an article in February giving a bunch of reasons House members used as a reason to vote proxy.
Rep. Karen Bass voted by proxy in the House last week as she filed paperwork in Los Angeles to run for mayor. Rep. Mo Brooks did the same to campaign for a Senate seat, tweeting a picture of himself shaking hands with Alabama Republicans.Rep. Ro Khanna used proxy voting while sitting in a car in the Capitol parking lot, doing an online interview about his new book.Nearly two years into Congress’ first foray into allowing House members to vote remotely, lawmakers are using the practice for a wide array of reasons not originally intended.
Rep. Greg Stanton, a freshman Arizona Democrat, voted remotely in mid-July to advance the Water Resources Development Act, which authorizes $10 billion in water infrastructure projects.Stanton appeared virtually on a monitor during the Transportation and Infrastructure hearing room. Stanton’s image on the screen startled the members attending in person who noticed that Stanton appeared to be rowing a boat while he voted “no” on an amendment.Stanton, who was visiting Utah at the time, quickly apologized on Twitter.“There’s no getting around it: I messed up and I’m sorry for it. I participated in the five-hour markup mostly from inside and went outside to watch my kids (while listening in the entire time) shortly before the vote was called,” Stanton tweeted.
The policy allows members to skip the 231-year-old requirement that House lawmakers must debate and vote in person. With such a close House of Representatives, some bills may not have passed without the proxy vote. Republican members have promised to end the policy if they take control in November.
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