House Republicans Lawsuit Over Proxy Voting

20 Republican lawmakers file lawsuit against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over new proxy voting system

(USA Today May 26)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/20-republican-lawmakers-file-lawsuit-222811306.html

WASHINGTON – A group of Republican lawmakers have filed a lawsuit against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over the chamber's new proxy voting system, a challenge to the rule that is set to be used for the first time on Wednesday.

The House developed and passed its new — and historic — proxy voting rules earlier this month, allowing members unable to come to Capitol Hill due to the coronavirus pandemic to designate another lawmaker as their "proxy" and cast floor votes on their behalf.

The goal was to allow lawmakers to have a voice if they could not travel to Washington safely due to the pandemic. It came after the House passed a number of coronavirus packages that amounted to about $3 trillion, bills where most lawmakers did not have much of a say in negotiations.

While the unprecedented rule change passed the chamber, no Republicans voted in favor of the measure with some calling into question the Constitutionality of the change.

The lawsuit, led by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, outlines this argument and details that under the Constitution, a majority of lawmakers must be present in order to take up business and vote on legislation.

"It is a brazen violation of the Constitution, a dereliction of our duty as elected officials, and would silence the American people’s voice during a crisis," McCarthy, R-Calif., said in a statement officially announcing the lawsuit. "Although I wish this matter could have been solved on a bipartisan basis, the stakes are too high to let this injustice go unaddressed."

McCarthy continued, arguing that while the Constitution allows for the House to dictate its own rules, it does not give authority to override the Constitution. "Rapid and robust legal relief is necessary," he says, though Republican aides note that a court is not likely to interject before the House votes this week using the proxy system.

Twenty House Republicans have signed on to the lawsuit, including members of House leadership, such as Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney, R-Wy. Four members of the public, each from different states, have also signed on.

The lawsuit targets Pelosi, along with the House clerk and sergeant-at-arms, and was filed in the D.C. federal district court Tuesday evening, McCarthy's office said.

More: To stop coronavirus' spread, House members change rules to allow members to cast floor votes from home for first time

Homeschooling, baking and legislating: Members of Congress shepherd the coronavirus response from home

Any measure passed under this system, especially those that pass by slim margins where proxies cast deciding votes, could be called into question and lead to a domino effect for years to come, according to GOP leadership aides.

The lawsuit argues that changes to how the House votes were not enacted during times of war or previous pandemics, such as the Spanish Flu, where an estimated 50 million died worldwide. The same can be said after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Pelosi, in a statement, called the lawsuit a "sad stunt" that will not block the House from moving forward.

"House Republicans’ sad stunt shows that their only focus is to delay and obstruct urgently-needed action to meet the needs of American workers and families during the coronavirus crisis," she said. "The House’s position that remote voting by proxy during a pandemic is fully consistent with the Constitution is supported by expert legal analyses."

Democrats said the change enables the chamber to respond nimbly to evolving issues, including the unfolding pandemic, without putting lawmakers, their staffs and hundreds of Capitol Hill workers at risk by requiring them to meet together.

More than 50 House Democrats have already designated a proxy ahead of Wednesday, where the House is scheduled to take up several measures, including an amendment to the contentious Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. No Republicans thus far have filed any notice that they intend to use a proxy and House Republican leadership, along with the attorneys filing the lawsuit, have advised Republicans not to use the new system.

House Representatives lawsuit doc from article:

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6928635/House-Republican-lawsuit-against-Speaker-Pelosi.pdf

(additional sauce continued)

>>9330613

House Republicans Lawsuit Over Proxy Voting (continued)

Sergeant At Ams Letter submitted May 19, entered in Congressional Digest May 22.

https://www.speaker.gov/sites/speaker.house.gov/files/SAAletter-section1ofHouseResolution965.pdf

https://www.congress.gov/116/crec/2020/05/22/CREC-2020-05-22-pt1-PgH2273-8.pdf

House Rules – (Rule XX begins page 33)

https://rules.house.gov/sites/democrats.rules.house.gov/files/documents/116-House-Rules-Clerk.pdf

H.Res. 967 (passed first, time period for proxy)

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/967

H.Res. 965 (method for proxy voting; amends Floor voting under Rule III but not Committee voting under Rule XI (f))

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/965

Proclamation 9994: Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/03/18/2020-05794/declaring-a-national-emergency-concerning-the-novel-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-outbreak

Good that some Representatives are taking action against the invalid Rules and the lawsuit doc actually gives details and explanations on how the Rules were violated and are unconstitutional in passing the rule change resolutions May 15.

Example from Anon notes:

The proxy vote legislation does not specify a legal authority under the National Emergencies Act, 50 USC Sec 1621 or Proclamation 9994. The only requirement is advice of the attending physician and concurrence of the Sergeant At Arm. This is under the House Rules XX Clause 5. The Sergeant At Arms report was not provided until May 19 and did not include the required details of Rule XX 5(c)(4) and updated Daily.

5.(c)(4) (A) For purposes of subparagraph (3), a catastrophic quorum failure report is a report advising that the inability of the House to establish a quorum is attributable to catastrophic circumstances involving natural disaster, attack, contagion, or similar calamity rendering Representatives incapable of attending the proceedings of the House.

(B) Such report shall specify the following:

(i) The number of vacancies in the House and the names of former Representatives whose seats are

vacant.

(ii) The names of Representatives considered incapacitated.

(iii) The names of Representatives not incapacitated but otherwise incapable of attending the

proceedings of the House.

(iv) The names of Representatives unaccounted for.

(C) Such report shall be prepared on the basis of the most authoritative information available after

consultation with the Attending Physician to the Congress and the Clerk (or their respective

designees) and pertinent public health and law enforcement officials.

(D) Such report shall be updated every legislative day for the duration of any proceedings under or in

reliance on this paragraph. The Speaker shall make such updates available to the House.

Text from Rule XX detailing requirements of the emergency report and the Sergeant at Arms letter (pic related) Red text indicates details not included in report submitted.

>>9330699

Correct (and ThanQ for the additional sauce)

Rule XX established how a Quorum is determined, and if an emergency occurs what actions are required to establish a provisional Quorum. The proxy rule change violated all that and fortunely appears to be detailed in the lawsuit.

Based on Pelosi's classification of emergency, if the physician concur's, the risk of a Representative stubbing their toe on all the Hall columns could constitute an emergency and need for a provisional quorum.