Republican leaders are intensifying their efforts to kill a bipartisan effort that may permit congress members who’re new dad and mom, and pregnant people who find themselves unable to journey safely or have a critical medical situation, to vote by proxy for as much as 12 weeks.
Representative Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Florida who co-sponsored the decision, mentioned this week that her colleagues have tried to bribe and threaten her to take away assist for the trouble.
These makes an attempt, Luna mentioned, haven’t deterred her.
“I’m not going to be bought. I will tell you that I’ve now been reached out to multiple times, offering me positions on different committees, and I don’t want it because this is bigger than me,” Luna, who grew to become the twelfth lawmaker to present start whereas serving within the House in 2023, informed reporters on Thursday. “It’s about actually changing the institution for the better.”
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Representatives Luna, Colorado Democrat Brittany Pettersen, California Democrat Sara Jacobs, and Republican Mike Lawler of New York teamed up on the decision, garnering the 218 signatures from House members vital for a discharge petition. This petition allows them to schedule a vote on the decision, even with out the assist of the chamber’s management. Meaning, they’ve sufficient bipartisan assist to pressure a vote in Congress.
But some Republicans, together with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, are waging a battle on the decision—reportedly threatening Luna and her supporters with electoral penalties in the event that they don’t shutter the trouble. And, based on reporting from Politico, even supporting the invoice has led some representatives to obtain threats that they gained’t be helped with fundraising efforts or that their payments gained’t make it to the congressional ground.
Johnson, who prides himself on being a frontrunner for household values, has vocally opposed the decision.
“I’m a father. I’m pro-family. The Republican Party is pro-family. We want to make it as easy as possible for young parents to be able to participate in the process,” Johnson informed NPR concerning the push to vary the principles for brand spanking new dad and mom. “But proxy voting, in my view, is unconstitutional.” The speaker mentioned the decision could possibly be a “slippery slope” to different exemptions.
Luna informed reporters that she is open to negotiating with Republican management—underneath sure circumstances. “If you’re going to barter, you’re not going to be trustworthy with the negotiations, there isn’t any negotiation,” she mentioned, later including, “I am not going to destroy democracy by allowing female members to vote when recovering from birth.”
This coordinated assault to disclaim new dad and mom, and notably new mothers, in Congress the power to vote remotely for a dozen weeks flies within the face of high Republicans’ voiced dedication to supporting the American household and the rights of moms. When reached by NPR, Johnson’s workplace declined to touch upon allegations by Luna and others.