'Say goodbye to representative government,' wrote Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, in response to members of Congress working remotely in the middle of a pandemic.
Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs (R) claimed on Monday that a temporary House rule change to allow members to vote by proxy during the coronavirus pandemic meant the end of America's representative democracy.
In an opinion column for the Daily Caller, Biggs wrote, "Say goodbye to representative government. Nancy Pelosi distracted the entire country from her efforts to emasculate the House of Representatives by introducing legislation that devastates our economy by taking on more than $3 trillion in national debt."
He continued, "It's been a pretty busy week for the Speaker as she has remade Congress by shattering the great institution of constitutional representation, Congress while enslaving generations of future Americans. And as an autocrat now runs the United States House of Representatives we can bid a mournful farewell to our constitutional republic."
Biggs was referring to votes on Friday in the House that authorized funds to help localities function during the pandemic and changed the rules to temporarily allowed members to hold committee hearings remotely and designate a colleague to cast their votes on the floor. The move will allow members to opt to work from home and model social distancing to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Biggs' comments this week are the latest in a series of remarks he has made minimizing the current crisis. He previously urged doctors to focus more on supporting the economy than public health, complained that Illinois was violating "religious liberty" by restricting the size of public gatherings (including at churches), and proposed that public health officials should be quarantined without pay to "see how they like it."
Other House Republicans have also attacked the Democratic majority's 45-day rule change. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said such a decision was "dangerous" since the Constitution does not authorize lawmakers to use Zoom or WebEx.
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) and Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) wrote in a joint statement that the change amounted to the House deciding to "abandon ship."
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) lamented that his "#Socialist #Democrat" colleagues just wanted to "GET PAID IN FULL without showing up for work at Capitol Hill."
The rule change came after the House physician expressed apprehension about the 435-member body meeting in person in Washington, D.C. — a COVID-19 hotspot.
At least six members of Congress have already tested positive for the virus.
Biggs also lamented the HEROES Act's $3.2 trillion price tag in his column on Monday, calling it "the greatest wealth transfer in the history of the world."
The bill passed with one Republican joining 207 Democrats in support.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already declared it "dead on arrival" in the Senate.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
