Andrea Seastrand: “Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer yet another fundamental change to the way business is done in the House of…”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer yet another fundamental change to the way business is done in the House of Representatives. Every one of us was elected by our constituents to do a job. Having a job means showing up for work every day--as most working Americans are required to do--and actively carrying out the duties to which we are assigned. The process of voting by proxy violates this basic responsibility. By allowing for proxy voting in the first place, it was never intended that: Representatives should stop representing; that they should never go to committee hearings; that they should never hear the testimony provided for them to make informed decisions; that they should never hear the critical evidence that might help them form opinions; and finally proxy voting was never intended that committee chairs should hold enough proxies to determine the outcome of legislation--regardless of the testimony, the evidence, the views of other Members, or the fact that some Members may have never bothered to attend a single committee meeting. Proxy voting, or ghost voting as it is sometimes referred to, allows a committee chair to do whatever he or she wants to do.”