A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is pushing to amend the chamber rules to allow proxy voting for members who are new parents, renewing an initiative from last Congress that Republican leadership declined to pursue.
Reps. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), and Mike Lawler (R-NY) introduced a resolution on Thursday that would seek to make Congress “more accessible to women and young parents” and reflect the “life experiences of the people it serves.”
Under the new legislation, members would be able to designate another member as a proxy beginning on the date of the birth and terminating 12 weeks after. If a member is told by a healthcare provider that there is a danger of complications or inability to travel safely, that member can vote by proxy for 12 weeks after the initial designation.
“Our government works best when the life experiences of the American people are represented,” Pettersen said in a statement. “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.”
The new parent proxy voting movement is one of the few areas that draws rare bipartisan support from both sides of the aisle.
Pettersen will soon be just the 14th member to give birth while serving in Congress. Luna, who was a new mother at the beginning of the 118th Congress, experienced several complications after giving birth to her son, who is frequently seen with his mother throughout the House hallways.
Because of her health matters, and the lack of rules for proxy voting, Luna was unable to attend sessions and vote — critical during a period of spending fights and just after the historic ousting of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Thursday’s bipartisan proposal comes almost two years after House Republicans nixed a pandemic-era measure that allowed proxy voting for members of the House during 2021 and 2022. McCarthy himself was anti-proxy voting and pushed for the end of the measure after the 2022 midterm elections.
“No parent should have to choose between caring for their child, or recovering from childbirth, and fulfilling their duties in Congress to represent their constituents,” Luna said. “Congress needs to get with the times. This bipartisan proposal is vital in promoting a pro-family Washington, where every American has a voice and the unwavering representation they deserve.”
In November, Luna announced that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who was elected to succeed McCarthy, would not support her push for new parent proxy voting. This came after the four lawmakers led 12 others in sending a letter to Johnson urging for proxy voting to come under the 119th Congress rules package.
That bill, which passed on Friday, did not include proxy voting.
“This is not only anti-family but is also a slap in the face to the hundreds of thousands of voters who send members to represent them in D.C.,” Luna said at the time.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Johnson for comment on whether he would support Thursday’s renewed effort.
Jacobs, who supported Luna’s first piece of legislation last year, froze her eggs in preparation to serve in Congress. She said Thursday she delayed starting a family because of the demands and travel that came with being a U.S. lawmaker.
“That’s why I’m so proud to be a part of this bipartisan coalition to give Members of Congress parental leave after giving birth so they don’t have to choose between their family and their jobs,” Jacobs said. “This is a small but important step forward to make our government more representative of our country and ultimately pass policies that help families make ends meet and thrive.”
Members who wished to vote by proxy would need to provide the House clerk an affirmative statement of the birth of the child or the existence of a medical condition, as well as the name of the member who will cast a vote for the new parent.
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Female members are not the only supporters of this legislation. Lawler is an original sponsor, with five of the eight co-sponsors including male members: Reps. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), and Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ). The other co-sponsors are Reps. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), and Young Kim (R-CA).
“Becoming a parent is one of the great joys in life, and it shouldn’t prevent members of Congress from being able to vote on critical legislation impacting their district,” Lawler said. “As the father of two young girls, I know how important it is to be with your children in those first few weeks.”
