As Washington lawmakers are in their home states right now, one Ohio Senator is bringing up the idea that maybe they find a way to do their work from home during this COVID-19 outbreak.
Ohio's Republican Senator Rob Portman and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin introduced a bill that would allow senators to vote remotely during a national crisis, like this outbreak or an act of war against the United States. Right now, the CDC is recommending against a full senate meeting in person, which would bring hundreds of people from all over the country to Washington D.C. Portman thinks that he and his fellow lawmakers should be able to vote on bills, amendments and have debates remotely.
“We are doing it all over the country,” says Portman. “People are doing financial transactions online that are secure. We talked to the tech companies; I think the technology is available to be sure it’s secure. It’s just the question of changing our tradition. Again I think it should be only available in extraordinary circumstances, very rare opportunities, like this where you shouldn’t get together.”
Portman says the Democratic leaders in the house and Republican leaders in the Senate are not on board with the idea and he is hoping that they will change their mind because he says it is a feasible thing to do now with COVID-19 and other future extreme situations that could arise.
