Washington, DC – Committee on House Administration Ranking Member Rodney Davis (IL-13), House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23), and House Rules Committee Ranking Member Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement on House Democrats‘ plan to institute remote-voting:

"Speaker Pelosi is once again attempting to consolidate power in the House of Representatives while rewarding members of her party for their compliance. Chairperson Lofgren's letter would pave the way for an expansion of the current proxy voting scheme into a fully-remote "vote by text" operation that is unproven, unsecure, and unconstitutional.

"In addition to this yet-to-be unveiled remote voting program, House Democrats are reportedly considering additional rules changes to insulate themselves from criticism, such as eliminating or neutering the motion to recommit, the minority party's last opportunity to amend legislation.

"By shielding themselves from substantive policy debates and questions from the Capitol Hill press corps, Democrats appear ready to silence the voices of millions of Americans and overturn centuries of House precedent just to protect their own political futures.

"Anyone that has served in or covered Congress understands the simplest way to extinguish party tensions is to keep members home and away from Washington. Facing a humbling defeat at the ballot box, Speaker Pelosi is now desperate to do no further harm to her political power.

"For the past week, all House Democrats can seem to talk about is themselves. Meanwhile millions of Americans continue to hurt from the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus. Rather than chart a path forward to help the American people, House Democrats have spent their time devising ways to rig the process to prevent blowback against their radical policies, all while they continue to collect a paycheck from the taxpayers.

"This is a disgrace and would forever alter the institution in which we serve for the worse."

Earlier today, Davis sent a letter to the House Committee on Rules regarding the House's preparedness to implement remote voting. CLICK HERE to view the letter.