Title: MOBILE Resolution
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
Members Operating to Be Innovative and Link Everyone Resolution or the MOBILE Resolution
Amends Rule XI (Procedures of Committees and Unfinished Business) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require each committee to permit any member absent from the site of a hearing, and any other absent individual invited to participate in the hearing, to use video conferencing and related technologies in order to participate in it to the same extent as members of the committee and other individuals present at the site of the meeting.
Requires a committee to adopt a rule to count any member who participates remotely in a hearing as one of the number of members constituting a quorum at the hearing.
Amends Rule XV (Business in Order on Special Days) to require the Clerk, Chief Administrative Officer, and Sergeant at Arms to work together to develop and implement a secure remote voting system under which any member absent from the floor shall be permitted to cast a vote remotely on a motion to suspend the rules if the vote is taken by electronic device.
Requires the member to be treated as present for purposes of determining the existence of a quorum for considering the motion.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 278 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 278

  Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to permit absent 
 Members to participate in committee hearings using video conferencing 
and related technologies and to establish a remote voting system under 
which absent Members may cast votes in the House on motions to suspend 
                               the rules.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 25, 2017

Mr. Swalwell of California (for himself, Mr. Pearce, and Mr. Crawford) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                                on Rules

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to permit absent 
 Members to participate in committee hearings using video conferencing 
and related technologies and to establish a remote voting system under 
which absent Members may cast votes in the House on motions to suspend 
                               the rules.

    Resolved,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This resolution may be cited as the ``Members Operating to Be 
Innovative and Link Everyone Resolution'' or the ``MOBILE Resolution''.

SEC. 2. PARTICIPATION OF ABSENT MEMBERS IN COMMITTEE HEARINGS THROUGH 
              VIDEO CONFERENCING AND RELATED TECHNOLOGIES.

    (a) Enabling Participation of Absent Members.--Rule XI of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives is amended by adding at the end the 
following new clause:
``Participation of absent members
    ``7. Each committee shall permit any member of the committee who is 
absent from the site of a hearing convened by the committee, as well as 
any other individual who is invited to participate in the hearing and 
who is absent from the site of the hearing, to use video conferencing 
and related technologies in order to participate in the hearing to the 
same extent as members of the committee and other individuals (as the 
case may be) who are present at the site of the meeting.''.
    (b) Inclusion of Members Participating Remotely in Determination of 
Quorum.--Subparagraph (2) of clause 2(h) of rule XI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives is amended by adding at the end the following 
sentence: ``A committee shall adopt a rule under which a member who 
participates in a hearing remotely pursuant to clause 7 shall be 
included in determining the number of members constituting a quorum at 
the hearing for purposes of this subparagraph.''.

SEC. 3. PERMITTING ABSENT MEMBERS TO VOTE REMOTELY ON SUSPENSION 
              MOTIONS.

    Clause 1 of rule XV of the Rules of the House of Representatives is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(d) The Clerk, Chief Administrative Officer, and Sergeant at Arms 
shall work together to develop and implement a secure remote voting 
system under which any member who is absent from the floor shall be 
permitted to cast a vote remotely on a motion to suspend the rules 
under this clause if the vote is taken by electronic device. A member 
who casts such a vote using the remote voting system under this 
subparagraph shall be treated as present for purposes of determining 
the existence of a quorum for considering the motion.''.
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