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Republican leaders are intensifying<\/a> their efforts to kill a bipartisan effort that would allow congress members who are new parents, and pregnant people who are unable to travel safely or have a serious medical condition, to vote by proxy for up to 12 weeks.<\/p>\n Representative Anna Paulina Luna<\/strong>, a Republican from Florida who co-sponsored the resolution, said this week that her colleagues have attempted to bribe and threaten her to remove support for the effort.<\/p>\n These attempts, Luna said, haven\u2019t deterred her.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to be bought. I will tell you that I\u2019ve now been reached out to multiple times, offering me positions on different committees, and I don\u2019t want it because this is bigger than me,\u201d Luna, who became the 12th lawmaker to give birth while serving in the House in 2023, told reporters on Thursday. \u201cIt\u2019s about actually changing the institution for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n This content can also be viewed on the site it originates<\/a> from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Representatives Luna, Colorado Democrat Brittany Pettersen<\/strong>, California Democrat Sara Jacobs<\/strong>, and Republican Mike Lawler<\/strong> of New York teamed up on the resolution, garnering the 218 signatures from House members necessary for a discharge petition. This petition permits them to schedule a vote on the resolution, even without the support of the chamber\u2019s leadership. Meaning, they have enough bipartisan support to force a vote in Congress.<\/p>\n But some Republicans, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson<\/strong>, are waging a war on the resolution\u2014reportedly threatening Luna and her supporters with electoral consequences if they don\u2019t shutter the effort. And, according to reporting<\/a> from Politico, even supporting the bill has led some representatives to receive threats that they won\u2019t be helped with fundraising efforts or that their bills won\u2019t make it to the congressional floor.<\/p>\n Johnson, who prides himself on being a leader for family values, has vocally opposed the resolution.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a father. I\u2019m pro-family. The Republican Party is pro-family. We want to make it as easy as possible for young parents to be able to participate in the process,\u201d Johnson told NPR about the push to change the rules for new parents. \u201cBut proxy voting, in my view, is unconstitutional.\u201d The speaker said the resolution could be a \u201cslippery slope\u201d to other exemptions.<\/p>\n Luna told reporters that she is open to negotiating with Republican leadership\u2014under certain circumstances. “If you\u2019re going to negotiate, you\u2019re not going to be honest with the negotiations, there is no negotiation,\u201d she said, later adding, \u201cI am not going to destroy democracy by allowing female members to vote when recovering from birth.\u201d<\/p>\n This coordinated attack to deny new parents, and particularly new moms, in Congress the ability to vote remotely for a dozen weeks flies in the face of top Republicans\u2019 voiced commitment to supporting the American family and the rights of mothers. When reached by NPR, Johnson\u2019s office declined to comment on allegations by Luna and others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nX content<\/h4>\n