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Republican lawmaker wants to let Congress telecommute

Republican lawmaker wants to let Congress telecommute

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steve pearce (facebook)
steve pearce (facebook)

Should Congress be allowed to telecommute? Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) thinks so, and he introduced a resolution last week to try to make it happen. If he has his way, lawmakers would be able to use videoconferencing and other technologies to attend hearings, debate, and vote on legislation from their district offices, without having to constantly fly back and forth to and from DC.

In a statement to The Hill, Pearce said that his resolution would "pull back Washington’s curtain and allow constituents to see and feel, first-hand, their government at work." That might be a bit of an overstatement, but at the very least, it could take a significant dent out of the travel budget for Congress’s 535 members. And as for the claim that his work-from-home plan would protect representatives from K St. lobbyists, we doubt that simply relocating a couple of hundred (or thousand) miles will be enough to keep the monied interests out of politics.