House Republicans on Tuesday tried and failed to block a bipartisan initiative by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), which aimed to allow new mothers in Congress to vote by proxy.
On Tuesday, Axios reported that the House Rules Committee set the stage for deliberating a bill known as the SAVE ACT and inserted language into the rules to obstruct Luna's proposal. The two bills are unrelated; the SAVE ACT aims at banning non-citizens from voting in federal elections, whereas Luna's legislation seeks to permit lawmakers, particularly new mothers and fathers, to vote by proxy for up to 12 weeks after becoming parents. It succeeded by a 222-206 vote, with nine Republicans joining all Democrats.
Luna managed to secure signatures from 218 House members for a discharge petition that mandates a vote on any measure, regardless of leadership support. Her rule change proposal would permit new parents in Congress to vote by proxy for three months after the birth of their child.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) — who strongly opposed proxy voting during the COVID-19 pandemic — has invested significant political effort into thwarting Luna's discharge petition, and he has angered many Republicans in the process. Even some Republicans who did not endorse the petition have reportedly voiced their frustration over Johnson's requirement that they choose between the bill on non-citizen voting and the proposed proxy voting rule. Proxy voting was temporarily allowed during the pandemic, but current House rules do not allow it.
"Rep. Luna followed the rules and deserves a vote on the merits of her proposal," said Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), per Axios. Despite this, Johnson told reporters on Tuesday: "We're not going to let it come up on the floor."
Last month, Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) held her infant son in her arms while making an important vote on the House floor. Since congressional rules prevented remote voting, the Colorado Democrat traveled across the country to vote against a multi-trillion dollar budget agreement that barely succeeded in the House of Representatives. In January, Pettersen, who was then a few weeks away from giving birth to her second child, was unable to fly to Washington, D.C., due to medical and travel restrictions toward the end of pregnancy, leaving her unable to vote on legislation. She became the 14th member of Congress to give birth while in office, and the first from Colorado.
"Unfortunately, I wasn't given the opportunity to vote remotely after giving birth, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from representing my constituents," Pettersen said.
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