Continuity of Congress

About

The following are resources on Continuity of Congress, including legislative actions, reports & analyses, video briefings, simulated remote proceedings, state & international actions, news, and more. It was compiled from January 2020 until sometime in 2022 as Congress grappled with operating in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

Index

• Congressional Actions
  • House of Representatives
    • 117th Congress COVID-related Rules and Announcements
    • 117th Congress Remote Voting Notices & Extensions
    • 116th Congress Remote Voting Notices & Extensions
    • 116th Congress Additional Materials and Provisions
  • Senate
• Litigation
• Constitutionality
• Implementation of Remote Proceedings
• Video Briefings & Simulations
• State and International
• Research
• Opinions
• News

Congressional Actions

House of Representatives

117th Congress COVID-related Rules and Announcements:

• House Rules Regarding Conduct During a Covered Period (1/4/2021)

• House Remote Proceedings Regulations (1/4/2021)

• House Proxy Voting Regulations (1/4/2021)

117th Congress Remote Voting Notices & Extensions:

• Fifteenth period: Speaker extension of covered period (3/28/22)

• Fourteenth period: Speaker extension of covered period (2/10/22)

• Thirteenth period: Speaker extension of covered period (11/12/21)

• Twelvth period: Speaker extension of covered period (8/13/21)

• Eleventh period: Speaker extension of covered period (6/28/2021)

• Tenth period: * Speaker extension of covered period (5/17/2021)

• Ninth period: Speaker extension of covered period (4/2/2021)

• Eighth period: Speaker extension of covered period (2/10/2021)

• Seventh period: Speaker extension of covered period (1/4/2021)

116th Congress Remote Voting Notices & Extensions:

• Sixth period: SAA notice of ongoing health emergency (11/28/2020)

• Fifth period: Speaker extension of covered period (11/16/2020)

• Fourth period: SAA notice of ongoing health emergency (9/29/2020) | Speaker extension of covered period (9/30/2020) (expires November 16, 2020) | Speaker announcement (9/30/2020)

• Third period: SAA notice of ongoing health emergency (8/12/2020) | Speaker extension of covered period (8/19/2020) (expires October 3, 2020)

• Second period: SAA notice of ongoing health emergency (6/26/2020) | Speaker extension of covered period (7/5/2020) (expires August 19, 2020)

• First period: SAA notice of ongoing health emergency (5/19/2020) | Speaker announcement of covered period (5/20/2020) (expires July 4, 2020)

116th Congress Additional Materials and Provisions

• Certification by House Admin Cmte Chair Lofgren to Speaker Pelosi that operable and secure technology exists to conduct remote voting in the House of Representatives. (11/10/2020) See also publication in the Congressional Record.

• "Staff Report on Feasibility of Remote Voting in the United States House of Representatives,” Committee on House Administration (11/10/2020)

• "Exploring the Feasibility and Security of Technology to Conduct Remote Voting in the House,” Cmte on House Administration, Chair Lofgren’s Opening Remarks (July 17, 2020)

• First Proxy Vote Cast by Rep. Boyle on behalf of Rep. Lofgren (May 27, 2020)

• House Republican Lawsuit on Proxy Voting (May 26, 2020)

• "Remote Voting by Proxy,” Dear Colleague letter from House Clerk regarding implementation (May 20, 2020)

• "Procedures for House Session on Friday, May 15, 2020,” Sergeant at Arms and Attending Physician (May 14, 2020)

• H. Res. 965 “Authorizing remote voting by proxy in the House of Representatives and providing for official remote committee proceedings during a public health emergency due to a novel coronavirus, and for other purposes. “ (May 13, 2020) Passed by a vote of 217-189 on May 15.

• Remote Voting by Proxy Regulations

• Remote Committee Proceedings Regulations

• House Rules Report & Dissenting Views

• Rules Committee Hearing Video

• Dear Colleague Letter from Rules Chair McGovern

• Ranking Members’ Letter (in opposition)

• “Minority Letter on Remote Meetings,” Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan and Subcommittee RM Ken Buck (May 11, 2020)

• “Statement on Proposal Put Forward by Republicans on the Virtual Congress Task Force,” Majority Leader Hoyer and Chairs Lofgren & McGovern (May 5, 2020)

• “A Plan for the People’s House: Four Strategies to Reopen Congress,” Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (May 4, 2020)

• “Hoyer Sends Letter to House CAO and Attending Physician on Plans for Resuming Capitol Operations,” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (May 1, 2020)

• “I'm chairman of the House Rules Committee. We need to change the way Congress operates.” Chair James McGovern (April 28, 2020)

• “Hoyer Statement Following the Virtual Congress Task Force's Second Meeting,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (April 28, 2020)

• “The House Must Get Back to Work,” House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (April 28, 2020)

• “NDC Leadership Remote Voting Virtual Committee Proceedings Letter,” New Democrat Coalition (April 26, 2020)

• “Dear Colleague on Combating the Coronavirus,” Speaker Pelosi announces the creation of a Bipartisan Task Force (April 24, 2020)

• "Chairman McGovern Releases Statement on Bipartisan Task Force" (April 22, 2020)

• House Resolution to Allow Remote Voting by Proxy and Remote Committee Work During a Pandemic Emergency, included in a Dear Colleague Letter by Rules Chair McGovern (April 22, 2020)

• "Majority Leader Letter on Remote Voting and Committee Work," by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (April 21, 2020)

• "Madam Speaker: It’s Time for Congress to Get Back to Work," by House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (April 21, 2020)

• “Chairman McGovern Statement on Presentation to the Democratic Caucus Recommending Implementation of Temporary Remote Voting During this Pandemic,” House Rules Committee (April 16, 2020)

• “Call for Leadership to Develop Alternative Approaches to Legislative Business,” Problem Solvers Caucus (April 7, 2020)

• Dear Colleague to All Members on Electronic Submission of Floor Documents, from Speaker Pelosi (April 6, 2020)

• Letter calling for virtual legislative meetings and hearings, New Democrat Coalition (April 2, 2020)

• Letter to the House Rules Committee from 67 Members of the House, drafted by Reps. Katie Porter and Eric Swalwell (March 23, 2020)

• “Majority Staff Report Examining Voting Options During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” House Rules Committee Democrats (March 23, 2020)

• Coronavirus Information and FAQs (including guidance for House Offices) Committee on House Administration (constantly updated)

Senate

• S.Res.201 - A resolution amending the Standing Rules of the Senate to enable the participation of absent Senators during a national crisis. (April 29, 2021)

• “Feinstein Statement on McConnell Decision to Reopen Senate,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (April 29, 2020)

• “How Congress Can Vote Remotely,” Senators Rob Portman & Dick Durbin (April 28, 2020)

• "Providing temporary emergency authority for absent Senators to cast votes outside the Senate Chamber." Senate Resolution introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (April 21, 2020)

• "Committee Releases Details for Updated Hearing Process in Response to COVID-19 Recommendations," Senate Armed Services Committee (March 25, 2020)

• “S. Res 548, A resolution amending the Standing Rules of the Senate to enable the participation of absent Senators during a national crisis,” introduced by Sens. Portman and Durbin (March 19, 2020)

Litigation

• Follow the Republican lawsuit challenging proxy voting (McCarthy v. Pelosi) here.

Constitutionality

• Decision of GOP lawsuit against remote covid voting rules in House of Representatives, States Court of Appeals For The District of District Circuit (July 20, 2021)

• Constitutionality of remote voting by proxy in the House of Representatives, Letter from Dean and Professor Erwin Chemerinsky, Berkeley School of Law (May 13, 2020)

• “The Quorum, the Constitutional Convention, and the Coronavirus: Some Questions,” Mark Strand and Tim Lang, Congressional Institute (May 5, 2020)

• “Continuity of Senate Operations,” (see legal analysis starting on page 8), Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Staff Memo (April 30, 2020)

• “Testimony before a Simulated Virtual Hearing on Remote Voting in Congress,” Daniel Schuman, First Branch Forecast (April 18, 2020)

• Letter to House Rules Chairman on scope of Congress’ constitutional authority to regulate its voting procedures, Professor Deborah Pearlstein (April 16, 2020)

• “Zoom Congress Is Perfectly Constitutional,” Deborah Pearlstein, The Atlantic (April 16, 2020)

• “Constitutional Considerations of Remote Voting In Congress,” Congressional Research Service (April 14, 2020)

• “The Constitutionality of Remote Voting,” Michael Stern, Point of Order (April 11, 2020)

Implementation of Remote Proceedings

• President signs into law the first bill passed using proxy voting (House GOP lawsuit challenging constitutionality of proxy voting is pending). (June 5, 2020).

• “Proxy Letters” from Members designating, changing, and revoking the authority for remote voting by proxy, House Clerk (continuously updated).

• “Remote Proceeding Pioneers,” Marci Harris (May 7, 2020)

• “Select Committee Host Virtual Member Discussion,” House Select Cmte on the Modernization of Congress (May 7, 2020)

• Remote Participation by Senators in Nomination Hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee (May 6, 2020)

• Remote Participation by Sen. Sherrod Brown, Senate Banking Committee (May 5, 2020)

• Virtual Forums on Coronavirus Response and Ebola Response, House Homeland Security (May 1, 2020)

• Roundtable - Continuity of Senate Operations and Remote Voting, Senate HSGAC Subcommittee on Investigations (April 30, 2020)

• Forum on Preventing Mass Layoffs, Congressional Progressive Caucus (April 29, 2020)

• “Hoyer Holds Chairs Meeting Over Videoconference,” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (April 29, 2020)

• Virtual Committee Forum, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee (April 28, 2020)

• “The House Must Get Back to Work,” (Emergency funding for remote operations and tech modernization.) Coalition of Organizations (April 20, 2020)

• “Summary and Analysis: House Rules Committee Democrats Report on Remote Voting,” Demand Progress (March 23, 2020)

• “Memo: Continuity of Legislatures,” Demand Progress (March 17, 2020)

• “Recommendations to Congress on Continuity and the Coronavirus,” Coalition of Organizations (March 12, 2020)

• “Recommendations to the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress Regarding First Branch Continuity of Government,” Beeck Center, PopVox and Demand Progress (October 19, 2019)

Video Briefings & Simulations

• Video Briefing: “Continuity of Congress: Virtual Panel Discussion,” Future of Democracy Lecture Series, GovLab et al (May 13, 2020)

• Video Briefing: “Two virtual panel discussions for Clerks and parliamentary staff to share best practice on delivery of parliamentary democracy,” Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (May 5 & 6, 2020)

• Video Briefing: “How Congress Can Work Remotely,” Civic Hall (April 24, 2020)

• Video Briefing: “Congress and COVID-19: Is Remote Legislating and Oversight Possible?” The Cato Institute (April 23, 2020)

• Video Briefing: “Simulated Remote Hearing featuring former Members of Congress, General David Petraeus,” (April 16, 2020)

• Video Briefing: “Continuity of Congress: How Legislatures Around the World Are Working Online During the Pandemic,” Beth Noveck, GovLab (April 16, 2020)

• Video Briefing: “Legislating in a Pandemic: Strategies for States,” State Innovation Exchange, Demand Progress, and Popvox (April 2, 2020)

• Video Briefing: “Mock Remote Hearing and Markup with former Reps. Brian Baird and Bob Inglis,” Demand Progress and PopVox (March 25, 2020)

• Video Briefing: “Continuity of Congress in the Wake of COVID-19,” featuring Daniel Schuman, Marci Harris, Norm Ornstein, Lorelei Kelly, John Fortier (March 17, 2020)

State and International

• “Coronavirus and the Commons: how the hybrid parliament has enabled MPs to operate remotely,” The Constitution Unit Blog (May 13, 2020)

• UK House of Commons Speaker Authorizes Remote Voting (May 6, 2020)

• “Continuity in Legislatures: Argentina,” Dane Gambrell, GovLab (May 4, 2020)

• “Continuity in Legislatures: The United Kingdom’s Hybrid Approach,” Dane Gambrell, GovLab (April 29, 2020)

• “Parliaments Respond to COVID-19,” National Democratic Institute (April 3, 2020)

• Letter: “Letter from the Speaker to the Leader urging a 'virtual' Parliament,” House of Commons (April 1, 2020)

• “COVID-19: The challenge of adapting and strengthening the role of parliaments,” (provides a regional overview of actions to adapt parliamentary work during the pandemic, while presenting specific recommendations from an Open Parliament perspective) Directorio Legislativo and ParlAmericas (April 2020)

• Report: “CPA Toolkit for Commonwealth Parliaments: Delivering Parliamentary Democracy,” Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (April 2020)

• Report: “Coronavirus: Changes to practice and procedure in other parliaments,” House of Commons Library (March 30, 2020)

• Report: “Remote voting in the European Parliament and national parliaments,” European Parliament Think Tank (March 25, 2020)

• Report: “Continuity of Legislative Activities during Emergency Situations,” Law Library of Congress (March 2020)

• Report: “Managing Disruption: Business Continuity for Legislatures,” LABCoN (March 15, 2019).

• Resource Webpage: National Conference of State Legislatures Resource Tracking the Impact of COVID-19 on State Legislatures: see the section on ‘present to vote vs remote participation’

• Resource Webpage: Parliaments in a Time of Pandemic: how parliaments are responding to the public health crisis by passing emergency legislation, allocating resources and adopting new ways of working using the latest innovation and technology

• Resource Webpage: Crowd.Law

• Resource Webpage: Legislative Assemblies Business Continuity Network

• Resource Webpage: “Technology Transfer for Remote Parliamentary Systems,” Federal Senate of Brazil (includes “Manual of Technology Transfer for Remote Sessions” and “Voting Panel - Parliaments Template”)

Research

• “Continuity of Congress: A Timeline of Remote Deliberations and Voting,” Taylor J. Swift, First Branch Forecast (updated weekly)

• “Where Each Member of Congress Stands on Remote Voting,” Demand Progress (continuously updated)

• “Quorum Requirements During the Pandemic and Potential Future Implications,” Sam Wice, Yale Journal on Regulation (April 6, 2020)

• “Preserving Our Institutions: The Supreme Court,” The Continuity of Government Commission (October 19, 2011)

• “The Continuity of the Presidency: The Second Report of the Continuity of Government Commission,” The Continuity of Government Commission (July 2, 2009)

• “Preserving Our Institutions: The First Report of the Continuity of Government Commission,” The Continuity of Government Commission (May 1, 2003)

• “Continuity of Congress: The Constitution, the Rules, and More,” Demand Progress (constantly updated)

• “Affected Legislators in the U.S. Congress,” GovTrack (constantly updated)

Opinions

• “The House is at last moving toward being able to govern in a crisis,” Washington Post Editorial Board (May 13, 2020)

• “A better way for Congress to work during the pandemic,” Washington Post Editorial Board (May 6, 2020)

• “Remote Voting by Congress ‘A Terrible Idea’,” Congressional Institute (May 5, 2020)

• “Congress must continue to move online,” Nick Schaper, The Hill (April 20, 2020)

• “What Happens if Congress Cannot Assemble to Do Its Work?” New York Times Editorial Board (April 3, 2020)

• Press Statement: “As Lawmakers Fall Ill, Congress and State Legislatures Must Enact Continuity Plans,” Demand Progress (March 30, 2020)

• “Congress cannot afford to shut down during this crisis,” David B. Cohen, Taylor J. Swift, and Robert Alexander, CNN (March 27, 2020)

• “In This Emergency, Let Congress Work Remotely,” Daniel Schuman & Marci Harris, The Bulwark (March 25, 2020)

• “We Badly Need Congress to Act. We Don’t Need Congress to Act in Person,” Deborah Pearlstein, Just Security (March 23, 2020)

• “Congress should allow its members to vote remotely,” Washington Post Editorial Board (March 23, 2020)

• “Members of Congress are facing a potential crisis of government. They were warned.” Tom Mann & Norm Ornstein (March 22, 2020)

• “Congress Desperately Needs an Emergency Plan,” Norm Ornstein, the Atlantic (March 13, 2020)

• “Big rules changes required, and quick, for Capitol Hill to respond to coronavirus,” Daniel Schuman & Marci Harris, the Fulcrum (March 11, 2020)

• “Modernizing Congress is a national security imperative,” Marci Harris and Lorelei Kelly, the Hill (November 2, 2019)

News

• “Technical difficulties mar several remote hearings,” James Bikales, The Hill (June 17, 2020)

• “Cheney says she remains open to remote voting, blasts proxy voting system,” Juliegrace Brufke, The Hill (May 27, 2020)

• “McConnell warns House Democrats over proxy voting on the floor,” Andrew Desiderio and John Bresnahan, Politico (May 21, 2020)

• “Historic rule change OKs House proxy votes and virtual committees,” Katherine Tully-McManus, Roll Call (May 15, 2020)

• “How to run the world remotely,” Jen Kirby, Vox (May 8, 2020)

• “Problem Solvers show how Congress can work from home with virtual floor debate,” Lindsey McPherson, Roll Call (May 7, 2020)

• “House attempts ‘Virtual Congress’ as remote legislation remains uncertain,” Leandra Bernstein, WJLA (May 7, 2020)

• “Capitol physician says Senate lacks capacity to test all senators,” Burgess Everett and Marianne Levine, Politico (April 30, 2020)

• “‘We’re basically ill-prepared’: Hobbled House majority frets about its effectiveness amid pandemic,” Mike DeBonis and Paul Kane, Washington Post (April 26, 2020)

• “McConnell blocks Paul's proposal on emergency remote voting,” Jordain Carney, Roll Call (April 21. 2020)

• “Organizations push for remote floor and committee debate, not just voting,” Katherine Tully-McManus, Roll Call (April 20. 2020)

• “Sidelined by Coronavirus, Congressional Leaders Face Pressure to Vote Remotely,” Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times (April 16. 2020)

• “Pandemic ‘accelerating’ House modernization as lawmakers push for remote votes, hearings,” Jory Hechman, Federal News Network (April 6, 2020)

• “Why Is Congress Still Meeting in Person?” Nancy Scola, Politico (March 26, 2020)

• “State legislatures eye remote voting amid coronavirus outbreak,” Tal Axelrod, The Hill (March 25, 2020)

• “House report tables remote voting,” Katherine Tully-McManus, Roll Call (March 24, 2020)

• “Congress faces the prospect of tele-legislating,” Derek Johnson, FCW (March 23, 2020)

• “Anxiety grows in Capitol as lawmakers weigh remote voting,” Sarah Ferris, Melanie Zanona, Heather Caygle, Politico (March 19, 2020)

• “Congress Needs to Get Its Act Together on the Coronavirus,” Gilad Edelman, Wired (March 12, 2020)