IV 

House Calendar No. 78 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 965 

[Report No. 116–420] 

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 

MAY 14, 2020 

Reported from the Committee on Rules; referred to the House Calendar and 

ordered to be printed 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF REMOTE VOTING BY 

2 PROXY DURING PUBLIC HEALTH EMER3 GENCY DUE TO NOVEL CORONAVIRUS. 

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

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

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

7 Attending Physician, that a public health emergency due 

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

9 Speaker’s designee, in consultation with the Minority 

10 Leader or the Minority Leader’s designee, may designate 

11 a period (hereafter in this resolution referred to as a ‘‘cov12 ered period’’) during which a Member who is designated 

13 by another Member as a proxy in accordance with section 

14 2 may cast the vote of such other Member or record the 

15 presence of such other Member in the House. 

16 (b) LENGTH OF COVERED PERIOD.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para18 graphs (2) and (3), a covered period shall terminate 

19 45 days after the Speaker or the Speaker’s designee 

20 designates such period. 

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

22 the Speaker or the Speaker’s designee receives fur23 ther notification from the Sergeant-at-Arms, in con24 sultation with the Attending Physician, that the 

25 public health emergency due to a novel coronavirus 

26 remains in effect, the Speaker or the Speaker’s desVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 May 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR965.RH HR965

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1 ignee, in consultation with the Minority Leader or 

2 the Minority Leader’s designee, may extend the cov3 ered period for an additional 45 days. 

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

5 period, the Speaker or the Speaker’s designee re6 ceives further notification by the Sergeant-at-Arms, 

7 in consultation with the Attending Physician, that 

8 the public health emergency due to a novel coronavi9 rus is no longer in effect, the Speaker or the Speak10 er’s designee shall terminate the covered period. 

11 SEC. 2. PROCESS FOR DESIGNATION OF PROXIES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

13 (1) DESIGNATION BY SIGNED LETTER.—In 

14 order for a Member to designate another Member as 

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

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

17 in electronic form) specifying by name the Member 

18 who is designated for such purposes. 

19 (2) ALTERATION OR REVOCATION OF DESIGNA20 TION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—At any time after sub22 mitting a letter to designate a proxy under 

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

24 Clerk a signed letter (which may be in elecVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 May 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR965.RH HR965

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1 tronic form) altering or revoking the designa2 tion. 

3 (B) AUTOMATIC REVOCATION UPON CAST4 ING OF VOTE OR RECORDING OF PRESENCE.— 

5 If during a covered period, a Member who has 

6 designated another Member as a proxy under 

7 this section casts the Member’s own vote or 

8 records the Member’s own presence in the 

9 House, the Member shall be considered to have 

10 revoked the designation of any proxy under this 

11 subsection with respect to such covered period. 

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

13 submitted by a Member pursuant to paragraphs (1) 

14 or (2), the Clerk shall notify the Speaker, the major15 ity leader, the Minority Leader, and the other Mem16 ber or Members involved of the designation, alter17 ation, or revocation. 

18 (4) LIMITATION.—A Member may not be des19 ignated as a proxy under this section for more than 

20 10 Members concurrently. 

21 (b) MAINTENANCE AND AVAILABILITY OF LIST OF

22 DESIGNATIONS.—The Clerk shall maintain an updated 

23 list of the designations, alterations, and revocations sub24 mitted or in effect under subsection (a), and shall make 


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1 such list publicly available in electronic form and available 

2 during any vote conducted pursuant to section 3. 

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

4 (a) RECORDED VOTES ORDERED.— 

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

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

7 shall be considered as ordered on any vote on which 

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

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

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

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

12 casts a vote or records a presence as a designated 

13 proxy for another Member under this resolution 

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

15 card ‘‘by proxy’’. 

16 (b) DETERMINATION OF QUORUM.—Any Member 

17 whose vote is cast or whose presence is recorded by a des18 ignated proxy under this resolution shall be counted for 

19 the purpose of establishing a quorum under the rules of 

20 the House. 

21 (c) INSTRUCTIONS FROM MEMBER AUTHORIZING

22 PROXY.— 

23 (1) RECEIVING INSTRUCTIONS.—Prior to cast24 ing the vote or recording the presence of another 

25 Member as a designated proxy under this resolution, 


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1 the Member shall obtain an exact instruction from 

2 the other Member with respect to such vote or 

3 quorum call, in accordance with the regulations re4 ferred to in section 6. 

5 (2) ANNOUNCING INSTRUCTIONS.—Immediately 

6 prior to casting the vote or recording the presence 

7 of another Member as a designated proxy under this 

8 resolution, the Member shall seek recognition from 

9 the Chair to announce the intended vote or recorded 

10 presence pursuant to the exact instruction received 

11 from the other Member under paragraph (1). 

12 (3) FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS.—A Member 

13 casting the vote or recording the presence of another 

14 Member as a designated proxy under this resolution 

15 shall cast such vote or record such presence pursu16 ant to the exact instruction received from the other 

17 Member under paragraph (1). 

18 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZING REMOTE PROCEEDINGS IN COMMIT19 TEES. 

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

21 and notwithstanding any rule of the House or its commit22 tees— 

23 (1) any committee may conduct proceedings re24 motely in accordance with this section, and any such 


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1 proceedings conducted remotely shall be considered 

2 as official proceedings for all purposes in the House; 

3 (2) committee members may participate re4 motely during in-person committee proceedings, and 

5 committees shall, to the greatest extent practicable, 

6 ensure the ability of members to participate re7 motely; 

8 (3) committee members may cast a vote or 

9 record their presence while participating remotely; 

10 (4) committee members participating remotely 

11 pursuant to this section shall be counted for the pur12 pose of establishing a quorum under the rules of the 

13 House and the committee; 

14 (5) witnesses at committee proceedings may ap15 pear remotely; 

16 (6) committee proceedings conducted remotely 

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

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

19 XI; and 

20 (7) reports of committees (including those filed 

21 as privileged) may be delivered to the Clerk in elec22 tronic form, and written and signed views under 

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

24 with the clerk of the committee. 


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1 (b) LIMITATION ON BUSINESS MEETINGS.—A com2 mittee shall not conduct a meeting remotely or permit re3 mote participation at a meeting under this section until 

4 a member of the committee submits for printing in the 

5 Congressional Record a letter from a majority of the mem6 bers of the committee notifying the Speaker that the re7 quirements for conducting a meeting in the regulations re8 ferred to in subsection (h) have been met and that the 

9 committee is prepared to conduct a remote meeting and 

10 permit remote participation. 

11 (c) REMOTE PROCEEDINGS.—Notwithstanding any 

12 rule of the House or its committees, during proceedings 

13 conducted remotely pursuant to this section— 

14 (1) remote participation shall not be considered 

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

16 clause 2(d) of rule XI; 

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

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

19 difficulties with respect to such proceedings; 

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

21 or other documents submitted to the committee in 

22 electronic form as prescribed by the regulations re23 ferred to in subsection (h) shall satisfy any require24 ment for the submission of printed or written docuVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 May 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR965.RH HR965

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1 ments under the rules of the House or its commit2 tees; 

3 (4) the requirement that results of recorded 

4 votes be made available by the committee in its of5 fices pursuant to clause 2(e)(1)(B)(i) of rule XI 

6 shall not apply; 

7 (5) a committee may manage the consideration 

8 of amendments pursuant to the regulations referred 

9 to in subsection (h); 

10 (6) counsel shall be permitted to accompany 

11 witnesses at a remote proceeding in accordance with 

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

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

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

15 (d) REMOTE PARTICIPANTS DURING IN-PERSON

16 PROCEEDINGS.—All relevant provisions of this section and 

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

18 to committee members participating remotely during in19 person committee proceedings held during any covered pe20 riod. 

21 (e) TRANSPARENCY FOR MEETINGS AND HEAR22 INGS.—Any committee meeting or hearing that is con23 ducted remotely in accordance with the regulations re24 ferred to in subsection (h)— 

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


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1 (2) shall be deemed to have satisfied the re2 quirement for non-participatory attendance under 

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

4 (3) shall be deemed to satisfy all requirements 

5 for broadcasting and audio and visual coverage 

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

7 committee rules. 

8 (f) SUBPOENAS.— 

9 (1) AUTHORITY.—Any committee or chair 

10 thereof empowered to authorize and issue subpoenas 

11 may authorize and issue subpoenas for return at a 

12 hearing or deposition to be conducted remotely 

13 under this section. 

14 (2) USE OF ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE AND

15 SEAL.—During any covered period, authorized and 

16 issued subpoenas may be signed in electronic form; 

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

18 House to such subpoenas in electronic form. 

19 (g) EXECUTIVE SESSIONS.— 

20 (1) PROHIBITION.—A committee may not con21 duct closed or executive session proceedings re22 motely, and members may not participate remotely 

23 in closed or executive session proceedings. 

24 (2) MOTION TO CLOSE PROCEEDINGS.—Upon 

25 adoption of a motion to close proceedings or to move 


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1 into executive session with respect to a proceeding 

2 conducted remotely under this section, the chair 

3 shall declare the committee in recess subject to the 

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

5 can reconvene in person. 

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

7 not apply to proceedings of the Committee on Eth8 ics. 

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

10 in accordance with regulations submitted for printing in 

11 the Congressional Record by the chair of the Committee 

12 on Rules. 

13 (i) APPLICATION TO SUBCOMMITTEES AND SELECT

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

15 ‘‘committee’’ or ‘‘committees’’ also includes a sub16 committee and a select committee. 

17 SEC. 5. STUDY AND CERTIFICATION OF FEASIBILITY OF RE18 MOTE VOTING IN HOUSE. 

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

20 Committee on House Administration, in consultation with 

21 the ranking minority member, shall study the feasibility 

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

23 and shall provide certification to the House upon a deter24 mination that operable and secure technology exists to 

25 conduct remote voting in the House. 


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1 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

2 (1) INITIAL REGULATIONS.—On any legislative 

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

4 Committee on House Administration provides the 

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

6 the Committee on Rules, in consultation with the 

7 ranking minority member, shall submit regulations 

8 for printing in the Congressional Record that pro9 vide for the implementation of remote voting in the 

10 House. 

11 (2) SUPPLEMENTAL REGULATIONS.—At any 

12 time after submitting the initial regulations under 

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

14 in consultation with the ranking minority member, 

15 may submit regulations to supplement the initial 

16 regulations submitted under such paragraph for 

17 printing in the Congressional Record. 

18 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—Notwithstanding any rule of 

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

20 after the submission of regulations by the chair of the 

21 Committee on Rules under subsection (b)— 

22 (1) Members may cast their votes or record 

23 their presence in the House remotely during a cov24 ered period; 


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

2 presence is recorded remotely under this section 

3 shall be counted for the purpose of establishing a 

4 quorum under the rules of the House; and 

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

6 presence remotely under this section shall be subject 

7 to the applicable regulations submitted by the chair 

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

9 SEC. 6. REGULATIONS. 

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

11 3 of this resolution shall be carried out in accordance with 

12 regulations submitted for printing in the Congressional 

13 Record by the chair of the Committee on Rules. 


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House Calendar No. 78 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 965 

[Report No. 116–420] 

RESOLUTION 

Authorizing remote voting by proxy in the House of 

other purposes. emergency due to a novel coronavirus, and for committee proceedings during a public health Representatives and providing for official remote 

MAY 14, 2020 

Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 

printed 


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