Frontline Workers Showed Up, Congress Should As Well

Press Release

Op-ed by Congressman Lee Zeldin

Throughout the coronavirus outbreak, our communities' healthcare workers, doctors, grocery store workers, truckers, farmers and more showed up to work when our country needed them. They were all selflessly and reliably working hard to ensure our loved ones had the care they need and that our shelves were stocked.

In the face of the invisible enemy, our frontline workers never wavered in doing what needed to be done, showing up day in and day out. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for too many Members of Congress.

Throughout our nation's history, in light of terrorist attacks, natural disasters, pandemics and everything in between, Congress has worked together to respond in the best interest of the American people. However, last month, the House of Representatives voted to change the rules and allow what is known as proxy voting. This means that instead of casting their votes in person, Members of Congress can give their vote to another Member of Congress to vote on their behalf.

Under this proxy voting system, a single Member of Congress can vote on behalf of up to 10 Members who decide not to come to Washington, D.C. to cast their own vote. This means that while they don't have to come to D.C. they will still collect a paycheck. Last week, for the first time in history, some Members of the House did just that. For example, two of these Members of Congress abused this new rule to skip votes in Washington to attend the SpaceX launch in Florida.

While over 70 Members of Congress gave their vote away, it was a no-brainer for me to show up to cast my votes in person as the Representative of New York's First Congressional District. Not only are there major Constitutional questions surrounding proxy voting, which undermines the validity of every piece of legislation passed using it, my constituents elected me to come to Washington, D.C. to do my job, and that's what I'm going to do.

Even in this period of working remotely, the committees on which I serve haven't had any official hearings or legislative markups. Not even remote ones.

I believe that one of the keys to leading and ensuring our nation emerges from this fight stronger than ever, is to show up. We cannot lead from behind. We need to come out of our basements and make the hard choices.

Coronavirus has claimed the lives of over 100,000 Americans, each and every one of them one too many. We cannot let the United States Congress become a victim of this pandemic as well. In the face of an unprecedented enemy, the foundation of our nation must stand strong.

Congressman Lee Zeldin represents New York's First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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