House Puts Off Vote to Allow Proxy Voting During Emergency

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats put off a planned vote Thursday on changing rules to let members cast proxy votes for others who want to avoid traveling to Washington during the pandemic, according to officials on a caucus-wide call.

House Republicans had urged their members to oppose the proposal, and Pelosi said a new effort will be made to come up with a bipartisan plan, according to the officials, who sought anonymity to discuss the call.

Pelosi also told members that instead they’ll vote Thursday on creating a special committee to oversee the distribution of coronavirus relief funds, the officials said.

Pelosi has said the No. 3 House Democrat, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, will chair the committee.

House Republicans will urge their members to vote against the commission, a leadership aide said. The party has argued that the select committee is redundant given the existing Oversight Committee.

During the call, Pelosi said the House will further study the idea of allowing proxy voting. A day earlier, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and second-ranking Republican Steve Scalise had urged their members to vote against the rule change, saying they wanted more details on how it would work.

”I oppose any change on how you vote in Congress that’s not done in a bipartisan manner,” McCarthy told reporters outside the White House Wednesday. “My discussion with the speaker today was very productive. What I think you’ll find is working together to come up with an idea how to deal with it.”

Pelosi said she and McCarthy chose a bipartisan group of House members to discuss voting by proxy and reopening the House. That group will include Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, McCarthy, Rules Chairman Jim McGovern and ranking Rules Republican Tom Cole. It also will include House Administration Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren of California, and top committee Republican Rodney Davis of Illinois.

(Updates with McCarthy comment in seventh paragraph)

--With assistance from Erik Wasson and Jennifer Jacobs.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Billy House in Washington at bhouse5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net

Laurie Asséo

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