IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 965 

Authorizing remote voting by proxy in the House of Representatives and 

providing for official remote committee proceedings during a public health 

emergency due to a novel coronavirus, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2020 

Mr. MCGOVERN submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Rules 

RESOLUTION 

Authorizing remote voting by proxy in the House of Representatives and providing for official remote committee 

proceedings during a public health emergency due to 

a novel coronavirus, and for other purposes. 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF REMOTE VOTING BY 

3 PROXY DURING PUBLIC HEALTH EMER4 GENCY DUE TO NOVEL CORONAVIRUS. 

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding rule III, at 

6 any time after the Speaker or the Speaker’s designee is 

7 notified by the Sergeant-at-Arms, in consultation with the 

8 Attending Physician, that a public health emergency due 


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1 to a novel coronavirus is in effect, the Speaker or the 

2 Speaker’s designee, in consultation with the minority lead3 er or the minority leader’s designee, may designate a pe4 riod (hereafter in this resolution referred to as a ‘‘covered 

5 period’’) during which a Member who is designated by an6 other Member as a proxy in accordance with section 2 may 

7 cast the vote of such other Member or record the presence 

8 of such other Member in the House. 

9 (b) LENGTH OF COVERED PERIOD.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graphs (2) and (3), a covered period shall terminate 

12 45 days after the Speaker or the Speaker’s designee 

13 designates such period. 

14 (2) EXTENSION.—If, during a covered period, 

15 the Speaker or the Speaker’s designee receives fur16 ther notification from the Sergeant-at-Arms, in con17 sultation with the Attending Physician, that the 

18 public health emergency due to a novel coronavirus 

19 remains in effect, the Speaker or the Speaker’s des20 ignee, in consultation with the minority leader or the 

21 minority leader’s designee, may extend the covered 

22 period for an additional 45 days. 

23 (3) EARLY TERMINATION.—If, during a covered 

24 period, the Speaker or the Speaker’s designee re25 ceives further notification by the Sergeant-at-Arms, 


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1 in consultation with the Attending Physician, that 

2 the public health emergency due to a novel coronavi3 rus is no longer in effect, the Speaker or the Speak4 er’s designee shall terminate the covered period. 

5 SEC. 2. PROCESS FOR DESIGNATION OF PROXIES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

7 (1) DESIGNATION BY SIGNED LETTER.—In 

8 order for a Member to designate another Member as 

9 a proxy for purposes of section 1, the Member shall 

10 submit to the Clerk a signed letter (which may be 

11 in electronic form) specifying by name the Member 

12 who is designated for such purposes. 

13 (2) ALTERATION OR REVOCATION OF DESIGNA14 TION.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—At any time after sub16 mitting a letter to designate a proxy under 

17 paragraph (1), a Member may submit to the 

18 Clerk a signed letter (which may be in elec19 tronic form) altering or revoking the designa20 tion. 

21 (B) AUTOMATIC REVOCATION UPON CAST22 ING OF VOTE OR RECORDING OF PRESENCE.— 

23 If during a covered period, a Member who has 

24 designated another Member as a proxy under 

25 this section casts the Member’s own vote or 


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1 records the Member’s own presence in the 

2 House, the Member shall be considered to have 

3 revoked the designation of any proxy under this 

4 subsection with respect to such covered period. 

5 (3) NOTIFICATION.—Upon receipt of a letter 

6 submitted by a Member pursuant to paragraphs (1) 

7 or (2), the Clerk shall notify the Speaker, the major8 ity leader, the minority leader, and the other Mem9 ber or Members involved of the designation, alter10 ation, or revocation. 

11 (4) LIMITATION.—A Member may not be des12 ignated as a proxy under this section for more than 

13 10 Members concurrently. 

14 (b) MAINTENANCE AND AVAILABILITY OF LIST OF

15 DESIGNATIONS.—The Clerk shall maintain an updated 

16 list of the designations, alterations, and revocations sub17 mitted or in effect under subsection (a), and shall make 

18 such list publicly available in electronic form and available 

19 during any vote conducted pursuant to section 3. 

20 SEC. 3. PROCESS FOR VOTING DURING COVERED PERIODS. 

21 (a) RECORDED VOTES ORDERED.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding clause 6 of 

23 rule I, during a covered period, the yeas and nays 

24 shall be considered as ordered on any vote on which 


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1 a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are requested, 

2 or which is objected to under clause 6 of rule XX. 

3 (2) INDICATIONS OF PROXY STATUS.—In the 

4 case of a vote by electronic device, a Member who 

5 casts a vote or records a presence as a designated 

6 proxy for another Member under this resolution 

7 shall do so by ballot card, indicating on the ballot 

8 card ‘‘by proxy’’. 

9 (b) DETERMINATION OF QUORUM.—Any Member 

10 whose vote is cast or whose presence is recorded by a des11 ignated proxy under this resolution shall be counted for 

12 the purpose of establishing a quorum under the rules of 

13 the House. 

14 (c) INSTRUCTIONS FROM MEMBER AUTHORIZING

15 PROXY.— 

16 (1) RECEIVING INSTRUCTIONS.—Prior to cast17 ing the vote or recording the presence of another 

18 Member as a designated proxy under this resolution, 

19 the Member shall obtain an exact instruction from 

20 the other Member with respect to such vote or 

21 quorum call, in accordance with the regulations re22 ferred to in section 6. 

23 (2) ANNOUNCING INSTRUCTIONS.—Immediately 

24 prior to casting the vote or recording the presence 

25 of another Member as a designated proxy under this 


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1 resolution, the Member shall seek recognition from 

2 the Chair to announce the intended vote or recorded 

3 presence pursuant to the exact instruction received 

4 from the other Member under paragraph (1). 

5 (3) FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS.—A Member 

6 casting the vote or recording the presence of another 

7 Member as a designated proxy under this resolution 

8 shall cast such vote or record such presence pursu9 ant to the exact instruction received from the other 

10 Member under paragraph (1). 

11 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZING REMOTE PROCEEDINGS IN COMMIT12 TEES. 

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—During any covered period, 

14 and notwithstanding any rule of the House or its commit15 tees— 

16 (1) any committee may conduct proceedings re17 motely in accordance with this section, and any such 

18 proceedings conducted remotely shall be considered 

19 as official proceedings for all purposes in the House; 

20 (2) committee members may participate re21 motely during in-person committee proceedings, and 

22 committees shall, to the greatest extent practicable, 

23 ensure the ability of members to participate re24 motely; 


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1 (3) committee members may cast a vote or 

2 record their presence while participating remotely; 

3 (4) committee members participating remotely 

4 pursuant to this section shall be counted for the pur5 pose of establishing a quorum under the rules of the 

6 House and the committee; 

7 (5) witnesses at committee proceedings may ap8 pear remotely; 

9 (6) committee proceedings conducted remotely 

10 are deemed to satisfy the requirement of a ‘‘place’’ 

11 for purposes of clauses 2(g)(3) and 2(m)(1) of rule 

12 XI; and 

13 (7) reports of committees (including those filed 

14 as privileged) may be delivered to the Clerk in elec15 tronic form, and written and signed views under 

16 clause 2(l) of rule XI may be filed in electronic form 

17 with the clerk of the committee. 

18 (b) LIMITATION ON BUSINESS MEETINGS.—A com19 mittee shall not conduct a meeting remotely or permit re20 mote participation at a meeting under this section until 

21 a member of the committee submits for printing in the 

22 Congressional Record a letter from a majority of the mem23 bers of the committee notifying the Speaker that the re24 quirements for conducting a meeting in the regulations re25 ferred to in subsection (h) have been met and that the 


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1 committee is prepared to conduct a remote meeting and 

2 permit remote participation. 

3 (c) REMOTE PROCEEDINGS.—Notwithstanding any 

4 rule of the House or its committees, during proceedings 

5 conducted remotely pursuant to this section— 

6 (1) remote participation shall not be considered 

7 absence for purposes of clause 5(c) of rule X or 

8 clause 2(d) of rule XI; 

9 (2) the chair may declare a recess subject to 

10 the call of the chair at any time to address technical 

11 difficulties with respect to such proceedings; 

12 (3) copies of motions, amendments, measures, 

13 or other documents submitted to the committee in 

14 electronic form as prescribed by the regulations re15 ferred to in subsection (h) shall satisfy any require16 ment for the submission of printed or written docu17 ments under the rules of the House or its commit18 tees; 

19 (4) the requirement that results of recorded 

20 votes be made available by the committee in its of21 fices pursuant to clause 2(e)(1)(B)(i) of rule XI 

22 shall not apply; 

23 (5) a committee may manage the consideration 

24 of amendments pursuant to the regulations referred 

25 to in subsection (h); 


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1 (6) counsel shall be permitted to accompany 

2 witnesses at a remote proceeding in accordance with 

3 the regulations referred to in subsection (h); and 

4 (7) an oath may be administered to a witness 

5 remotely for purposes of clause 2(m)(2) of rule XI. 

6 (d) REMOTE PARTICIPANTS DURING IN-PERSON

7 PROCEEDINGS.—All relevant provisions of this section and 

8 the regulations referred to in subsection (h) shall apply 

9 to committee members participating remotely during in10 person committee proceedings held during any covered pe11 riod. 

12 (e) TRANSPARENCY FOR MEETINGS AND HEAR13 INGS.—Any committee meeting or hearing that is con14 ducted remotely in accordance with the regulations re15 ferred to in subsection (h)— 

16 (1) shall be considered open to the public; 

17 (2) shall be deemed to have satisfied the re18 quirement for non-participatory attendance under 

19 clause 2(g)(2)(C) of rule XI; and 

20 (3) shall be deemed to satisfy all requirements 

21 for broadcasting and audio and visual coverage 

22 under rule V, clause 4 of rule XI, and accompanying 

23 committee rules. 

24 (f) SUBPOENAS.— 


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1 (1) AUTHORITY.—Any committee or chair 

2 thereof empowered to authorize and issue subpoenas 

3 may authorize and issue subpoenas for return at a 

4 hearing or deposition to be conducted remotely 

5 under this section. 

6 (2) USE OF ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE AND

7 SEAL.—During any covered period, authorized and 

8 issued subpoenas may be signed in electronic form; 

9 and the Clerk may attest and affix the seal of the 

10 House to such subpoenas in electronic form. 

11 (g) EXECUTIVE SESSIONS.— 

12 (1) PROHIBITION.—A committee may not con13 duct closed or executive session proceedings re14 motely, and members may not participate remotely 

15 in closed or executive session proceedings. 

16 (2) MOTION TO CLOSE PROCEEDINGS.—Upon 

17 adoption of a motion to close proceedings or to move 

18 into executive session with respect to a proceeding 

19 conducted remotely under this section, the chair 

20 shall declare the committee in recess subject to the 

21 call of the chair with respect to such matter until it 

22 can reconvene in person. 

23 (3) EXCEPTION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) do 

24 not apply to proceedings of the Committee on Eth25 ics. 


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1 (h) REGULATIONS.—This section shall be carried out 

2 in accordance with regulations submitted for printing in 

3 the Congressional Record by the chair of the Committee 

4 on Rules. 

5 (i) APPLICATION TO SUBCOMMITTEES AND SELECT

6 COMMITTEES.—For purposes of this section, the term 

7 ‘‘committee’’ or ‘‘committees’’ also includes a sub8 committee and a select committee. 

9 SEC. 5. STUDY AND CERTIFICATION OF FEASIBILITY OF RE10 MOTE VOTING IN HOUSE. 

11 (a) STUDY AND CERTIFICATION.—The chair of the 

12 Committee on House Administration, in consultation with 

13 the ranking minority member, shall study the feasibility 

14 of using technology to conduct remote voting in the House, 

15 and shall provide certification to the House upon a deter16 mination that operable and secure technology exists to 

17 conduct remote voting in the House. 

18 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

19 (1) INITIAL REGULATIONS.—On any legislative 

20 day that follows the date on which the chair of the 

21 Committee on House Administration provides the 

22 certification described in subsection (a), the chair of 

23 the Committee on Rules, in consultation with the 

24 ranking minority member, shall submit regulations 

25 for printing in the Congressional Record that proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 May 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR965.IH HR965

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1 vide for the implementation of remote voting in the 

2 House. 

3 (2) SUPPLEMENTAL REGULATIONS.—At any 

4 time after submitting the initial regulations under 

5 paragraph (1), the chair of the Committee on Rules, 

6 in consultation with the ranking minority member, 

7 may submit regulations to supplement the initial 

8 regulations submitted under such paragraph for 

9 printing in the Congressional Record. 

10 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—Notwithstanding any rule of 

11 the House, upon notification of the House by the Speaker 

12 after the submission of regulations by the chair of the 

13 Committee on Rules under subsection (b)— 

14 (1) Members may cast their votes or record 

15 their presence in the House remotely during a cov16 ered period; 

17 (2) any Member whose vote is cast or whose 

18 presence is recorded remotely under this section 

19 shall be counted for the purpose of establishing a 

20 quorum under the rules of the House; and 

21 (3) the casting of votes and the recording of 

22 presence remotely under this section shall be subject 

23 to the applicable regulations submitted by the chair 

24 of the Committee on Rules under subsection (b). 


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1 SEC. 6. REGULATIONS. 

2 To the greatest extent practicable, sections 1, 2, and 

3 3 of this resolution shall be carried out in accordance with 

4 regulations submitted for printing in the Congressional 

5 Record by the chair of the Committee on Rules. 

Æ 


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