A bipartisan pair of congressmen are introducing a bill this week that would enable lawmakers to work from home amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) announced Monday that they were reintroducing the Members Operating to Be Innovative and Link Everyone (MOBILE) Resolution, a 2013 bill that would allow for votes to be cast by members from outside the chamber.
If passed, the bill would not immediately be enforceable, as the secure software needed by lawmakers to access much of their sensitive material is still being created, according to Axios.
“The ability for Members of Congress to vote remotely if need be has been technologically feasible for decades,” Crawford said in a statement. “The ongoing Coronavirus outbreak underscores the need for Congress to embrace what the 21st Century has to offer.”
Swalwell has introduced the MOBILE Resolution in every Congress since his first election in 2013 to no avail, but views the threat of coronavirus as relevant to his bill, deeming that the crisis makes it necessary.
“Modern technology belongs in Congress and my resolution would allow Members to not only spend more time with their constituents and their families, but would prove useful for a number of situations, including the public health crisis in which we currently find ourselves,” he said in a press release.
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