Committee on House Administration Ranking Member Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) release this statement following a hearing on establishing remote voting in the House.

"It's clear from this hearing that House Democrats are going to move forward with remote voting. This will fundamentally change this institution and not for the better," said Davis. "We heard from a former House Speaker himself on how this will greatly consolidate the power of the Speaker, leaving little room for the voices of districts across the country to be heard. As someone who has worked hard to cultivate relationships with my colleagues of both parties, I fear fewer in-person interactions will not only limit opportunities to work together, but lead to less of a willingness to work with the other side. The issue is not whether or not we can implement remote voting, but whether or not we should. Instead of looking at ways to make it easier for members to not show up, this committee and Speaker Pelosi should focus on preparing the People's House for members, staff, and visitors to safely return."

Davis invited former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to provide historical context and testify on the impact this would have on the House's ability to function.

Highlights from Gingrich's testimony:

More power to the Speaker

"First, the amount of power centered on the Speaker will create a virtual legislative dictatorship. There have been moments of strong Speakers in our history. In each case, when they grew too strong, the legislative body as a group confronted them and forced change (the joint progressive Republican-Democrat coalition that broke Speaker Joseph Cannon's power in 1910 is the classic example).

"If every member of Congress is back at home, the Speaker and his or her staff will have virtually unlimited ability to shape the legislation they want, make the deals with the Senate and the President they want, and become virtually unchallengeable. The defense of freedom which the Founding Fathers had made the most important mission of the legislative branch would be destroyed by this single development..."

Less Member interaction and education

"Second, the individual members will lack the mentorship and the collegiality which has grown so many legislators over the last 244 years.

"The legislative process is a continuing apprenticeship and educational experience. Legislating, the act of voluntarily getting free people from many different backgrounds and regions to work together, is one of the most complex things human beings do. It takes years to learn to be an effective legislator.

"Ask any third- or fourth-term member how much more he or she understands about the legislative process than when he or she first arrived. Ask how much of that learning came from hanging out and listening to colleagues. I was very honored to go through what might be called "the school of legislating" for over a decade before I joined the Republican leadership..."

Inadequate legislation

"Third, legislation will become a lot more inadequate – and in some cases, just plain dumb – as the traditional process of working together and sharing information and different perspectives changes into a more distant, irregular, and inevitably disrupted process.

"The US Congress would become a detached collection of echo chambers – and America would be hurt by it..."

Politicians are not more important than other Americans

"I think the idea that politicians are too precious to come together at a time – as you pointed out Chairperson Lofgren, after truck drivers, people who run grocery stores, people who work in restaurants – the number of Americans every day, who are going about their business – you can be prudent, you can wear a mask ,you can have social distancing. But this idea that the current challenge leads us into a radical disruption of 3,000 years of legislative history, I think is a very, very sad commentary on the American system.

"Politicians are not more important than truck drivers, they're not more important than nurses, or they're not more important than frankly people who work in a restaurant or at Walmart or the grocery store. So I wish you would drop this sense of panic, relax, and figure out how to get together in a healthy way and show the country by example that we can, in fact, function even under this challenge..."

CLICK HERE to read Gingrich's full testimony.