WASHINGTON -- Congressional leaders are resisting calls to let lawmakers vote remotely, a dispute pitting the coronavirus against two centuries of tradition.
Meanwhile, the White House has instructed federal agencies to adjust their operations to focus on "mission-critical" services to contain the coronavirus by limiting face-to-face interactions.
In a memo late Tuesday, acting budget director Russell Vought told department heads that they should "postpone or significantly curtail" operations that cannot be carried out through telework or that require in-person interaction with the public.
"Government must immediately adjust operations and services to minimize face-to-face interactions, especially at those offices or sites where people may be gathering in close proximity or where highly vulnerable populations obtain services," Vought wrote.
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Advocates of the congressional voting change cite the health perils of air travel at a time when health experts want people to avoid crowds. They argue that it may become impossible for many lawmakers to journey to the Capitol.
"There was a time when physical presence was the only way to make sure that a person was present and voting," said No. 2 Senate Democratic leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill. "I think that technology gives us other options and we better exercise them."
So far, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have taken steps to reduce the risks of lawmakers in the Capitol infecting one another. But they've opposed letting them cast votes electronically from their home districts.
"Come in and vote and depart the chamber so we don't have gaggles of conversations here on the floor," McConnell, R-Ky., advised senators Wednesday. McConnell said that to help prevent lawmakers from crowding together, he would prolong the time allowed for what are supposed to be 15-minute roll calls. The day's first lasted 50 minutes.
Underscoring lawmakers' shifting attitudes, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said about voting, "Showing up is important. Now in the middle of a pandemic now, maybe that changes. Ask me in a day or so." Feinstein, 86, is the Senate's oldest member.
The idea of remote voting, while not new, would present hurdles, including assuring that the system is secure.
It would also be a sharp break from history. Members must cast votes in person during roll calls on the House and Senate floors.
Supporters say remote voting would reduce infections that members might incur and spread to their families and co-workers, and let them show they are practicing the behavior the nation's leaders want the public to adopt.
Last week, Pelosi rebuffed House Democrats at a closed meeting who'd suggested letting lawmakers leave the Capitol and vote electronically from their home districts, participants in the session said.
"We are the captains of the ship. We are the last to leave," Pelosi said, according to a person who described the private meeting on condition of anonymity.
CALL TO ACT
On the federal employee directive, Vought urged agencies to quickly communicate cuts to services to the public and postpone "non-mission critical functions" to limit the virus's spread. He acknowledged that exceptions would be necessary for operations that protect public health and safety, including those in law enforcement and criminal-justice roles.
The memo was the strongest direction yet to federal leaders to put themselves on an emergency footing to fight the coronavirus. But it did not order agencies to trigger what are known as "continuity of operations" plans, the most extreme emergency planning tool at their disposal to scale back to essential services.
Under those plans, as many employees as possible would work from home, but government services would be substantially pared down, similar to a shutdown. Thousands of employees would not be working, emergency management experts said, although they would be paid. The White House has told agencies to prepare for this scenario.
It was unclear how quickly and to what degree agencies would curtail services in response. On Monday, the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration began closing field offices across the country and restricting face-to-face services they offer to limit contract with customers.
As of Wednesday, employees from agencies across the government, as well as contractors they work with, were calling their representatives in Congress to say they were still being ordered to go into the office.
Vought's memo also instructed agencies to restrict anyone infected by covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, and those at higher risk of contracting it, from federal buildings.
Information for this article was contributed by Alan Fram, Matthew Daly, Padmananda Rama, Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro of The Associated Press; and by Lisa Rein and Eric Yoder of The Washington Post.
A Section on 03/19/2020