In the News

Link to The Original Article

Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), who is currently pregnant, is urging fellow lawmakers to support her in a bid to allow proxy voting for members of Congress who are new parents under the Rules of the House for the 119th Congress. 

Pettersen is slated to become the 14th member — and the first from Colorado — to give birth while serving in Congress.

“Today marks the first day I am unable to fly to DC for votes due to travel restrictions ahead of my due date,” Pettersen wrote Monday in a statement on the social platform X. 

“It shouldn’t be this way. Congress must pass my bipartisan resolution to allow Members who are new parents to vote remotely.”

Pettersen been promoting her bipartisan resolution alongside Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.).

Luna authored a similar bill in the last legislative cycle after having a child in office. The two said the current House Voting Rules prevent new parents from serving and supporting their growing families.

“No parent should have to choose between caring for their child, or recovering from childbirth, and fulfilling their duties in Congress to represent their constituents,” Luna said in a statement. “Congress needs to get with the times. This bipartisan proposal is vital in promoting a pro-family Washington, where every American has a voice and the unwavering representation they deserve.”