Vic Fazio Stresses Importance of Congressional Interaction in Story on Remote-Voting Bill
Contact:
Akin Gump public law and policy senior advisor Vic Fazio was quoted by NewsMax for its article “Bill to Allow Cellphone-Voting Congress Panned by Politicians” on Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-CA) bill to allow U.S. members to attend committee hearings via teleconference and vote remotely using their cellphones.
According to the article, many are opposed to this bill because of the possible negative effects it would have on lawmaking. Fazio noted, "I have a lot of respect for Rep. Swalwell, but were voting by phone to become law, it would lead to less interaction in Congress—and that's what Congress is about.”
He continued, emphasizing that legislating in Congress was "an interpersonal process and part of the problem is that, with so many members in Washington as little as possible, that process doesn't exist. The less time members have to interact, the more Congress becomes too impersonal."