In a determined pursuit of change, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is steadfast in her efforts to secure remote voting rights for new parents in the House, despite encountering resistance from Republican leaders and her colleagues in the House Freedom Caucus.
According to The Washington Times, the concept of proxy voting, introduced by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the COVID-19 pandemic, was met with criticism from Republicans who argued that it was exploited by lawmakers.
However, Luna, a Florida Republican, is advocating for a more restricted version of proxy voting, exclusively for new mothers and fathers in Congress. Her resolution, which has garnered enough support to be presented for a vote, would permit a representative to delegate their voting rights to a colleague for a maximum of 12 weeks while they attend to their newborn.
Luna is leveraging a discharge petition, a House procedure that enables a legislator to accumulate a simple majority of signatures to force a vote on a bill. Despite the petition receiving bipartisan backing, it has been met with opposition from Republican leadership and Freedom Caucus members, who argue that it contravenes the constitution.
In a revealing statement, Luna disclosed that she had been tempted with attractive committee assignments by several individuals in an attempt to dissuade her from the proxy-voting measure. She expressed her disbelief at the opposition, stating, The fact that they are choosing this hill to die on, specifically, I am not going to destroy democracy by allowing female members to vote when recovering from birth. She further noted that many of those opposing the measure had themselves voted by proxy, even after the pandemic had subsided.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, and his leadership team maintain that the proposal is unconstitutional and could potentially be misused if approved. Luna is expected to force a vote on the measure as early as next week, but she has been cautious about revealing her plans, wary of Johnson's potential attempts to obstruct her.
The House GOP leadership perceives discharge petitions as a tool of the minority. Luna's proposal has been met with widespread opposition from House Republicans, with only 12 Republicans, including Luna herself, endorsing it. Despite this, she remains optimistic about the passage of her resolution with bipartisan support, noting that many House Republicans have privately assured her that she is in the right despite the resistance from leadership.
Rep. Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, supports Luna's initiative and revealed that he was asked to withdraw his support in return for the chance to have votes on two of his bills. He recounted, Somebody said, Well, if we got those bills on the floor, would you, would you vote against Luna? Thats like voting against pregnant women, are yall crazy?
Johnson and his leadership team have not confirmed these accounts. His opposition to proxy voting for new parents comes at a time when he holds a precarious majority in the House, which is set to diminish further later this year with the pregnancy announcement of Florida Republican Rep. Kat Cammack.
Luna believes that permitting new parents to vote by proxy would be beneficial for the institution in the long run. She dismissed concerns about potential misuse, stating, Its not like all 435 members are gonna run out and get pregnant, then all of a sudden youre gonna have a massive vote by proxy. Thats simply not possible, also too, not the case.
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