Jacob Ogles
U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has managed to force a full House vote on a measure that could allow new moms in Congress to vote remotely.
Luna previously filed legislation that would allow members to vote by proxy for six weeks after giving birth to a child. But the St. Petersburg Republican faced resistance from leadership in her own party, and the bill hasn’t advanced in the chamber.
So Luna filed a discharge petition, a method open to all members to gather enough support to force a vote on a bill if 218 Representatives agree.
That measure reached the requisite signatures required Tuesday, when Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler of New York signed on. Ultimately, only 12 Republicans supported the effort, along with 206 Democrats.
But Luna said the bill represents family values that conservatives should rally behind.
Luna gave birth to her first child during her first term in Congress, and previously said it surprised her that she couldn’t vote by proxy when all members were allowed that ability in the pandemic.
“When my son was born last Summer, leadership told me I would not be allowed to vote by proxy while I recovered from childbirth. Yet, during COVID, the entire House of Representatives was allowed to do so!” Luna told Florida Politics.
“This is a double standard we can’t ignore. My resolution to amend the House Rules would allow a Congresswoman who gives birth to vote by proxy for the first six weeks after her baby is born.”
Democrats had controlled the chamber when proxy voting was allowed in the pandemic, and many Republicans criticized the legality at the time. When Republicans won a majority, the policy was quickly abandoned.
Nine other Florida lawmakers supported Luna’s discharge petition, including Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and Democratic U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Lois Frankel, Maxwell Frost, Jared Moskowitz, Darren Soto, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Frederica Wilson.
Discharge petitions are often filed, usually by members of the minority party, but rarely force issues to the floor. Of note, one of the last successful petitions was also filed by a Florida Representative. U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican, successfully passed a disaster-related tax relief bill last year using the process.
