IV 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 23 

Permitting parental remote voting by proxy, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2025 

Ms. PETTERSEN (for herself, Mrs. LUNA, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. LAWLER, Mr. 

GOMEZ, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. CISCOMANI, Ms. 

PEREZ, Mrs. KIM, Mr. VAN DREW, and Mr. NEGUSE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules 

RESOLUTION 

Permitting parental remote voting by proxy, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

3 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Proxy Voting 

4 for New Parents Resolution’’. 

5 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF REMOTE VOTING BY PROXY IN 

6 HOUSE AND IN COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE 

7 FOR MEMBERS BECOMING PARENTS. 

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding rule III, in 

10 the case of a Member who has given birth or whose 


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1 spouse has given birth, such Member may designate 

2 another Member as a proxy who may cast the vote 

3 of such Member or record the presence of such 

4 Member in the House and in the Committee of the 

5 Whole House on the state of the Union in accord6 ance with this section. 

7 (2) PERIOD OF AUTHORIZATION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

9 under subparagraph (B), the authority to vote 

10 by proxy or record a presence pursuant to para11 graph (1) shall begin on the date of the birth 

12 and shall terminate 12 weeks thereafter. 

13 (B) DESIGNATION PRIOR TO BIRTH.—Not14 withstanding subparagraph (A), a Member may 

15 instead make a designation prior to the birth of 

16 a child in the event that such Member’s health 

17 care provider advises that her pregnancy pre18 sents a serious medical condition or that she is 

19 unable to travel safely. Such authority to vote 

20 by proxy or record a presence shall terminate 

21 12 weeks after the initial designation. Each 

22 week prior to the birth of the child during 

23 which a Member does not have a designated 

24 proxy shall not constitute a week for purposes 

25 of this subparagraph. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR DESIGNATION BY MEM2 BER.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order for a Member to 

4 designate another Member as a proxy under sub5 section (a), the Member shall submit to the Clerk a 

6 signed and dated letter (which may be in electronic 

7 form). Such letter must be submitted prior to the 

8 start of the first vote in which the Member wishes 

9 to vote by proxy and must include— 

10 (A) an affirmative statement of— 

11 (i) the birth of a child in the case of 

12 a designation under subparagraph (A) of 

13 subsection (a)(2); or 

14 (ii) the existence of a medical condi15 tion related to pregnancy as stipulated by 

16 the Member’s health care provider in the 

17 case of a designation under subparagraph 

18 (B) of subsection (a)(2); 

19 (B) a statement of intent to vote by proxy, 

20 including the name and State of the Member 

21 who has agreed to be designated as a proxy; 

22 and 

23 (C) an original signature of the Member 

24 making the designation. 


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1 (2) ALTERATION AND REVOCATION.—At any 

2 time after submitting a letter to designate a proxy 

3 under paragraph (1), such Member may submit to 

4 the Clerk a signed letter (which may be in electronic 

5 form) altering or revoking the designation. 

6 (3) AUTOMATIC REVOCATION UPON CASTING OF

7 VOTE OR RECORDING OF PRESENCE.—If a Member 

8 who has designated another Member as a proxy 

9 under this section casts the Member’s own vote or 

10 records the Member’s own presence in the House or 

11 in the Committee of the Whole House on the state 

12 of the Union, the Member shall be considered to 

13 have revoked the designation of any proxy under this 

14 section. Revocation of proxy does not prohibit a 

15 Member from designating a proxy at a later time. 

16 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF CLERK.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of a letter sub18 mitted by a Member pursuant to subsection (b), the 

19 Clerk shall— 

20 (A) verify the letter; 

21 (B) notify the Speaker, the Majority Lead22 er, the Minority Leader, and the other Member 

23 or Members involved in the designation, alter24 ation, or revocation; and 


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1 (C) if a letter is missing any of the items 

2 under subsection (b)(1), notify the submitting 

3 Member of the deficiency, which shall result in 

4 the proxy being unable to vote on the Member’s 

5 behalf. 

6 (2) MAINTENANCE OF LIST.—The Clerk shall 

7 maintain an updated list of the active designations, 

8 alterations, and revocations pursuant to this section 

9 and shall make such list publicly available in elec10 tronic form. 

11 (d) PROCEDURES FOR CASTING VOTES OR RECORD12 ING PRESENCE BY PROXIES.— 

13 (1) USE OF BALLOT CARD.—In the case of a 

14 vote by electronic device, a Member who casts a vote 

15 or records a presence as a designated proxy for an16 other Member under this section shall do so by bal17 lot card, indicating on the ballot card ‘‘by proxy’’. 

18 (2) INSTRUCTIONS FROM MEMBER.—Prior to 

19 casting the vote or recording the presence of another 

20 Member as a designated proxy under this section, 

21 the Member shall obtain an exact instruction from 

22 the other Member with respect to such vote. The 

23 Member voting by proxy, to the maximum extent 

24 practicable, shall provide written voting instruction 

25 to the Member serving as proxy. 


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1 (3) RECOGNITION BY CHAIR.—Immediately 

2 prior to casting the vote or recording the presence 

3 of another Member as a designated proxy under this 

4 section, the Member shall seek recognition from the 

5 Chair to announce the intended vote or recorded 

6 presence pursuant to the exact instruction received 

7 from the other Member under paragraph (2). 

8 (4) FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS FROM MEM9 BER.—A Member casting the vote or recording the 

10 presence of another Member as a designated proxy 

11 under this section shall cast such vote or record such 

12 presence pursuant to the exact instruction received 

13 from the other Member under paragraph (2). 

14 (e) PROHIBITING USE OF PROXY TO ESTABLISH

15 QUORUM.—Any Member whose vote is cast or whose pres16 ence is recorded by a designated proxy under this section 

17 shall not be counted for purposes of establishing a quorum 

18 under the rules of the House. 

19 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF REMOTE VOTING BY PROXY IN 

20 COMMITTEE FOR MEMBERS BECOMING PAR21 ENTS. 

22 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding rule XI, a 

23 Member who has designated another Member as a proxy 

24 who may cast the vote of such Member under section 2 

25 may designate a member of each committee on which the 


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1 Member sits as a proxy who may cast the vote of such 

2 Member in committee in accordance with this section dur3 ing the same period in which another Member is author4 ized to cast the vote of such Member under section 2. 

5 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR DESIGNATION.—In order 

6 for a Member to designate a committee member as a proxy 

7 under subsection (a), the Member shall submit to the chair 

8 and ranking minority member a signed and dated letter 

9 (which may be in electronic form) specifying by name the 

10 other Member who is designated as a proxy for such Mem11 ber. Such letter must be submitted prior to the start of 

12 the first committee meeting in which the Member wishes 

13 to vote by proxy. 

14 (c) ALTERATION AND REVOCATION.—At any time 

15 after submitting a letter to designate a proxy under sub16 section (b), such Member may submit to the chair and 

17 ranking minority member a signed letter (which may be 

18 in electronic form) altering or revoking the designation. 

19 (d) AUTOMATIC REVOCATION UPON CASTING OF

20 VOTE OR RECORDING OF PRESENCE.—If a Member who 

21 has designated another Member as a proxy under this sec22 tion casts the Member’s own vote in a committee, the 

23 Member shall be considered to have revoked the designa24 tion of proxy in that committee under this section. RevocaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Jan 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR23.IH HR23

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1 tion of proxy does not prohibit a Member from designating 

2 a proxy at a later time. 

3 (e) INSTRUCTIONS FROM MEMBER.—Prior to casting 

4 the vote of another Member as a designated proxy under 

5 this section, the Member shall obtain an exact instruction 

6 from the other Member with respect to such vote. The 

7 Member voting by proxy, to the maximum extent prac8 ticable, shall provide written voting instruction to the 

9 Member serving as proxy. 

10 (f) PROHIBITING USE OF PROXY TO ESTABLISH

11 QUORUM.—Any Member whose vote is cast in committee 

12 by a designated proxy under this section shall not be 

13 counted for purposes of establishing a quorum under the 

14 rules of the committee. 

15 SEC. 4. APPLICATION TO DELEGATES AND THE RESIDENT 

16 COMMISSIONER. 

17 For purposes of sections 2 and 3, the term ‘‘Member’’ 

18 shall include a Delegate and the Resident Commissioner 

19 and the term ‘‘State’’ shall include the District of Colum20 bia and a territory, except that— 

21 (1) nothing in this section authorizes a Dele22 gate or the Resident Commissioner to cast a vote in 

23 the House or record their presence in the House; 

24 and 


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1 (2) a Delegate and the Resident Commissioner 

2 may be designated as a proxy for purposes of section 

3 2 only by a Delegate or the Resident Commissioner. 

Æ 


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