Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) notched enough support to force a floor vote on allowing proxy voting for new parents, circumventing House GOP leaders who oppose the measure and argue that it is unconstitutional.
Luna last week had filed a discharge petition, a method in the House of bringing legislation to the floor, to force a vote on the Proxy Voting for New Parents Resolution led by Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) — who gave birth to a son in January and traveled with her infant for major votes when he was just 1 month old.
Discharge petitions, which are rarely successful, need 218 signatures to force floor action on a bill or resolution — a majority of the chamber, and enough to adopt the measure. Luna’s petition reached that threshold on Tuesday afternoon, and she expects a vote when the House returns from recess the week of March 25.
“Never bet against a Luna,” the Florida congresswoman told The Hill, referencing the House GOP resistance to the parental proxy voting push.
The underlying resolution, H.Res. 23, authorizes proxy voting for up to 12 weeks for members who give birth, whose spouse gives birth, and pregnant members who are unable to travel safely for medical reasons.
Eleven Republicans signed the discharge petition: Reps. Michael Rulli (Ohio), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Dan Crenshaw (Texas), Byron Donalds (Fla.), Jeff Van Drew (N.J.), Andy Ogles (Tenn.), Dan Meuser (Pa.), Wesley Hunt (Texas), Rich McCormick (Ga.), Dave Joyce (Ohio) and Mike Lawler (N.Y.). Luna said there were other members who wanted to sign on, but the petition closed once it hit 218 signatures, the number needed to force a vote.
Luna previously tried to get GOP leadership to include a proxy voting provision in a House rules package, without success.
Republican leaders argue that proxy voting, which Democrats previously implemented widely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is unconstitutional. And Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has personally argued in a Supreme Court brief that proxy voting is unconstitutional.
“It’s unfortunate. I have great sympathy, empathy, for all of our young women legislators who are of birthing age. It’s a real quandary,” Johnson previously told CNN. “But I’m afraid it doesn’t fit with the language of the Constitution and that’s the inescapable truth that we have.”
Luna, who had her first child during her first term in 2023, pushed back on those arguments.
“It’s not unconstitutional. It’s within the left and right limits. We removed the quorum,” Luna told The Hill, referencing a provision in the legislation that says any members voting by proxy will not be counted for the purposes of designating a quorum — an issue that Republicans brought up when proxy voting was widely used for an omnibus spending bill in 2022.
“Were also at a two-person majority, so what happens when Brandon Gill has his child? Is he not supposed to be at the birth of his child?” Luna said, referring to the representative from Texas. “We’re supposed to be the pro-life party, so I’m just reminding everyone of that.”
The last successful discharge petition was for the Social Security Fairness Act at the end of last year, which increased payouts of benefits primarily for those who received public sector pensions. That discharge petition effort prompted criticism at the time in the House GOP, with some members saying that the GOP members who bucked leadership showed a lack of discipline.
