Rep. Brittany Pettersen on why she's pushing for remote voting in Congress

Nine Republicans joined Democrats on Tuesday to prevent House Speaker Mike Johnson from killing a bill that would allow remote voting for new parents.

“It's unconstitutional and there's no limiting principle. So if you allow it for some situations, you're ultimately gonna have to allow it for all,” Johnson said Tuesday. “And I think that destroys the deliberative nature of the body.”

Democrats allowed proxy voting during the pandemic when they controlled the House.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), the bill’s sponsor, used a procedural tool known as a discharge petition to force the House to consider a vote on the measure.

It’s unclear what will happen next.

Colorado Democratic Rep. Brittany Patterson brought her infant son Sam to the House floor — burp cloth and all — to give a speech in favor of voting remotely.

“When you have a baby as young as Sam is, you can't leave your baby for days,” Pettersen said in an interview with Here & Now. “Sam is on this journey with me.”

One of the benefits of working from home is if you need to breastfeed, for instance, you can do it from the comfort of your home while still casting a vote, right?

“ Yeah, it's what so many women and parents face after welcoming a new child and how to grapple with making sure that their wellbeing is prioritized while also going back to work, depending on what state you live in.

“In Colorado, we passed paid family medical leave, but in so many places, you're expected to go back just two weeks after giving birth, and it's unfathomable. But it's about making sure that your babies are able to be taken care of, that parents aren't forced to choose between taking care of their newborn and, God forbid something terrible happens, or from my colleagues who tell their stories about their child being in the NICU and having to make the difficult choice of leaving the hospital to come fly to votes.

“It's completely unnecessary stress and risk when we are living in 2025. We're perfectly capable of having our voices represented here in Congress without being here in person for limited circumstances where there are medical reasons that you can't be here, and that includes giving birth and having a newborn child.”

Speaker Mike Johnson says that proxy voting robs the house of deliberation — the conversations on the floor — but also that it's unconstitutional. What’s your response?

“[ Johnson’s] arguments just are unfounded, and he says that this is unconstitutional. The only outstanding issue is whether or not a remote vote could count towards a quorum, whether or not you have enough members present. We've excluded it from counting toward a quorum. So, we've actually addressed his concerns.  This is an important step forward in making sure that Congress is reflective of the people that we're representing, and that young families’ voices are represented here.”

Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna  started the push for this last year after she gave birth. Talk about the bipartisan nature of this.

“I'm grateful for the partnership and her being a champion on this issue. I didn't expect to actually be pregnant and welcoming my second son, and I'm so grateful that we were able to come together and work on a resolution that both of us supported to move forward. It's not just about moms who are giving birth, it's also about dads who play a critical role. As you know, there are a lot more dads in Congress.”

What are you going to do? Are you going to continue to bring Sam in? 

“Next week was going to be my last week of trying to be home with Sam to take care of him before coming back full time. It looks like speaker Johnson won't give me that either.  I was hoping for that week, but I will definitely be back with Sam because, you know, he needs his mom and because I have to be here, he's gonna be here with me.”

 We know that there are aspects of the far right that include not wanting women in the workforce and wanting women at home. Do you think there's any part of this that's about making it unpleasant for women to be working there?

“You can't help but ask that question about leadership support for women actually being here and doing their job. There are physical limitations that make it impossible when you're close to your due date. I wasn't able to fly from Colorado to make votes because I wasn't allowed to board a plane. And giving birth and that recovery and, and taking care of my newborn, it's 24/7 care and.

“Recovery is also a key piece of this, post-delivery. So, you can't help but question if leadership is not supporting women and not supporting families. And I've continued to say that this is anti-women, anti-parent, anti-family, but it gives me hope to have the ability in this moment, you know, it's really only five discharge petitions have passed in 25 years. This is a really big deal, and I hope that we do a lot more of coming together to actually solve problems here in Congress. And I think that the greatest threat is that members actually recognizing the power that they do have.”

Lynn Menegon produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Todd Mundt. Allison Hagan adapted it for the web.