(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., announced that congressmen would no longer be allowed to cast their votes remotely by appointing an employee to attend hearings for them, otherwise known as proxy voting.
“No more proxy voting,” McCarthy wrote on Twitter. “Effective immediately, Members of Congress have to show up to work if they want their vote to count.”
No more proxy voting. Effective immediately, Members of Congress have to show up to work if they want their vote to count.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) January 19, 2023
McCarthy made his intent to end the measure clear during the many rounds of voting for the House speaker position, according to the Post Millennial.
“From the get-go, we warned that proxy voting would be misused as a means of convenience rather than as a precaution for health—and it has been, by members of both parties,” he said.
Rep Steve Scalise, R-La., said that virtual hearings—which became the norm over the course of the lockdowns—are also coming to an end.
“Committees can’t be meeting in these … boxes where nobody’s in a room and everybody’s in some remote location and you can’t even discuss an amendment,” he said. “We’re gonna be back in person again.”
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., implemented proxy voting in May of 2020 as a protective measure against COVID-19.
Democrats took advantage of the proxy-vote system to host campaign rallies, attempting to raise money and gain voters by neglecting their work.
Several Republicans voted by proxy to attend CPAC in 2022. However, many of them were glad to see the practice die out.
Proxy voting in the House is now dead. Your reps need to show up and do their job now, just like you.
— RepScottPerry (@RepScottPerry) January 10, 2023
Today, House Republicans will vote to END proxy voting once and for all.
The House of Representatives isn't a tech company.
Its members should work IN PERSON in the People's House!
— Congressman Byron Donalds (@RepDonaldsPress) January 9, 2023
Several other pandemic-time measures are being abandoned as the world moves back toward some semblance of normalcy.
