In the face of Republican opposition, House Democrats have backed off plans to consider allowing members to vote and hold hearings remotely during the pandemic.
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democratic House leaders Wednesday morning she was pulling the plug on the remote voting plan.
Pelosi, D-Calif., said after a call with House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy they would task a bipartisan group to study the idea, a Democratic leadership aide told NPR.Earlier, Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said proxy voting and remote hearings could address potential lockdown concerns later this year as a result of a second surge in coronavirus cases.
"We cannot risk Congress grinding to a halt because of this virus. We need to act," McGovern, D-Mass., saidNow, Pelosi and McCarthy are moving forward instead with the bipartisan task force, which will include McCarthy, McGovern, House Rules ranking member Tom Cole, R-Okla., and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. It will also include House Administration Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and its ranking member, Rodney Davis, R-Ill.
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