FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         Contact: Natalie Edelstein, 202-225-5065

March 9, 2020                                                                                natalie.edelstein@mail.house.gov

SWALWELL, CRAWFORD REINTRODUCE THE MOBILE RESOLUTION

Today, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) reintroduced the Members Operating to Be Innovative and Link Everyone (MOBILE) Resolution. The resolution would strengthen the ability of Members to virtually participate in committee hearings and allow them to vote remotely on suspension bills.

“From coast to coast, some of the country’s largest companies are already using technology to communicate and conduct business remotely,” said Swalwell. “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.”

“The ability for Members of Congress to vote remotely if need be has been technologically feasible for decades,” said Crawford. “The ongoing Coronavirus outbreak underscores the need for Congress to embrace what the 21^st Century has to offer.”

The MOBILE Resolution would require that Members and invited witnesses be allowed to participate in committee hearings remotely, and this participation would count toward rules on quorum.  It also would mandate the development of a secure remote voting system which Members could use to vote remotely on suspension bills, generally non-controversial bills that require a two-thirds vote to pass.

Rep. Swalwell has introduced the MOBILE Resolution every Congress since the 113th.