IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 543 

Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to permit Members 

to vote by proxy and remotely attend committee proceedings in certain 

cases, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 22, 2023 

Ms. ROSS (for herself, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. RASKIN, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, 

and Ms. JACOBS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Rules 

RESOLUTION 

Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to 

permit Members to vote by proxy and remotely attend 

committee proceedings in certain cases, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. PERMITTING PROXY VOTING AND REMOTE AT3 TENDANCE AT COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGS 

4 FOR MEMBERS IN CERTAIN CASES. 

5 (a) PROXY VOTING.—Clause 2 of rule III of the 

6 Rules of the House of Representatives is amended— 


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•HRES 543 IH 

1 (1) in paragraph (a), by striking ‘‘A Member 

2 may not’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in para3 graph (c), a Member may not’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (b), by striking ‘‘No other per5 son may’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 

6 paragraph (c), no other person may’’; and 

7 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

8 paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(c) In the case of a Member with a serious medical 

10 condition, including any pregnancy-related condition, or a 

11 Member who is the primary caretaker of a spouse or de12 pendent with a serious medical condition (including any 

13 pregnancy-related condition), such Member may designate 

14 another Member as a proxy who may cast the vote of such 

15 Member or record the presence of such Member in the 

16 House if such Member submits to the Clerk a signed let17 ter, which the Clerk shall preserve the confidentiality of 

18 and which may be in electronic form— 

19 ‘‘(1) certifying that such Member has received 

20 a recommendation from a doctor that the Member or 

21 the spouse or dependent of the Member, as the case 

22 may be, should not travel or attend House pro23 ceedings in person as a result of a serious medical 

24 condition; and 


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•HRES 543 IH 

1 ‘‘(2) specifying by name the other Member who 

2 is designated as a proxy for such Member.’’. 

3 (b) REMOTE ATTENDANCE AT COMMITTEE PRO4 CEEDINGS.—Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Rep5 resentatives is amended by adding at the end the following 

6 new clause: 

7 ‘‘Remote attendance at committee proceedings in 

8 certain cases 

9 ‘‘7. Notwithstanding any other provision of this rule, 

10 in the case of a Member with a serious medical condition, 

11 including any pregnancy-related condition, or a Member 

12 who is the primary caretaker of a spouse or dependent 

13 with a serious medical condition (including any pregnancy14 related condition) who has submitted to the Clerk a signed 

15 letter, which the Clerk shall preserve the confidentiality 

16 of and which may be in electronic form, certifying that 

17 such Member has received a recommendation from a doc18 tor that the Member or the spouse or dependent of the 

19 Member, as the case may be, should not travel or attend 

20 House or committee proceedings in person as a result of 

21 a serious medical condition, such Member may participate 

22 remotely during in-person committee proceedings, includ23 ing by casting a vote or recording their presence remotely, 

24 and— 


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•HRES 543 IH 

1 ‘‘(a) such remote participation shall not be con2 sidered an absence for purposes of clause 5(c) of 

3 rule X or clause 2(d) of rule XI; and 

4 ‘‘(b) such Member participating remotely pursu5 ant to this clause shall be counted for the purpose 

6 of establishing a quorum under the rules of the 

7 House and the committee.’’. 

Æ 


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