By Jim Jordan President Trump's task force has been working hard to fight the coronavirus pandemic and open up America. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has been silent -- AWOL, you might say. Even as the Senate returns to work this week, the House remains shuttered. And now, feeling the heat for their prolonged absence, House Democrats are floating plans that would upend centuries of legislative precedent and concentrate power in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's hands. One Democratic idea would allow a representative to ask a colleague to cast a vote on her behalf, known as a proxy vote. And this proxy vote would count for purposes of a quorum, the majority needed to proceed with business. If implemented, this brainstorm would create a procedural fiction in which a representative would be considered "physically" present in the Capitol when she is home with her freezer full of gourmet ice cream. The insult to suffering Americans is unmistakable. Farmers are still planting crops. Truckers still deliver goods. Grocers still stock shelves. Front-line health workers work around the clock. These Americans don't have the luxury of sending a "proxy" to do their jobs. And neither should Congress. Physical presence is essential to effective, accountable and transparent legislating. Proxy voting would only increase the likelihood of massive omnibus legislation crafted exclusively by the Democratic leadership behind closed doors and presented to other lawmakers as a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. This approach puts power in the hands of a small group of Democrats crafting the legislation -- and shuts out other voices. Remote voting also raises concerns about potential abuse. For example, a representative could be considered "present" for official business in the House while simultaneously conducting campaign activities, a potential violation of ethics rules that separate the two. By its very nature, proxy voting separates a representative from the ancient act of casting her vote, diminishing accountability and increasing the potential for coercion or intimidation. It might also be unconstitutional. The Constitution mandates that each legislative chamber have a majority of members present to do business. In 1892, the Supreme Court ruled that the House can decide for itself how it will count members for a quorum, so long as the body doesn't "ignore constitutional restraints." And the high court spelled out what that means: Members must be physically present. Pelosi acknowledged as much in April, admitting: "There is a constitutional requirement that we vote in person." The House has never allowed proxy voting for the chamber's business. Although the House once allowed proxy voting at committee proceedings, Republicans eliminated the practice in 1995 to increase accountability and transparency over committee work. But even when committees allowed proxy voting, those proxy votes didn't count toward quorum. Understanding this history, it is also alarming that Democrats are now moving toward remote committee meetings via video teleconference. Here, too, remote meetings stifle minority rights and amplify majority, Democratic power, limiting the procedural tools available to Republicans and allowing Democratic chairmen to silence GOP members with a simple computer stroke. The House and its committees can work in person and remain safe. In fact, we did it just two weeks ago, when almost 400 representatives voted on the House floor and two committees met in person. We practiced social distancing, staggered voting and used a lot of disinfecting wipes. Certainly, while the pandemic continues, common sense dictates that we would keep health safeguards in place. House Democrats haven't been shy about their goal of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to further their radical goals. Majority Whip James Clyburn called the crisis "a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision." Pelosi attempted to pump the first stimulus full of irrelevant liberal priorities: the Green New Deal, mail-in voting, single-payer health care. One Democrat even called desperately needed assistance for small businesses "leverage" to pass radical left-wing priorities. At a time when millions of Americans are worried for their families and their futures, their elected representatives in the House should lead. The first step, the easiest step, is to lead by example -- and show up to work. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.

By Rep. Jim Jordan One of the fundamental instincts of policymakers during any crisis is to grow government. Government programs expand, agencies assume new powers, and sometimes whole new agencies emerge as policymakers try to prove that they have acted in face of the crisis. The coronavirus pandemic is no different. This pandemic is a serious public health emergency that demands the attention of federal policymakers. But some high-profile Democrats want to go further, seeing the pandemic as a "tremendous opportunity" to "restructure" government in their image. They use the pandemic to push for single-payer healthcare, mail-in voting, the "Green New Deal," universal income, and other wish list priorities for today's left. As we encounter these efforts to expand government, we must resist them. When government grows, individual liberty suffers. Our liberty, articulated in the Declaration of Independence and enshrined in the Bill of Rights, is the most fundamental element of American life. For over two centuries, it has empowered our free exchange of ideas and fueled our engines of innovation. It has propelled the American dream and contributed to the most vibrant economy in the history of the world. We must always protect freedom and defend against any encroachment on our liberty. This vigilance is especially necessary in the current fight against a new enemy that has brought increased government control into our everyday lives. The coronavirus pandemic has already stripped us of some of our most basic liberties. Governments have directed the public to stay in their homes, they have forced small businesses to close, and they have restricted how we can interact with each other. While these steps are sometimes necessary, we always need to be concerned about restrictions on individual liberties. The coronavirus pandemic reminds us that big-government controls dictated by government officials on both the national and local level can be the greatest threat to the future of our liberties and freedoms. This potential government overreach has been on display recently. os Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, for example, encouraged citizens to tattle on neighbors they believe are violating the city's stay-at-home order. Garcetti boasted that "snitches" would "get rewards" if they reported businesses or people acting in a manner that the government deemed "nonessential." The mayor's office has sent the Los Angeles Police Department to 144 of more than 500 "nonessential" businesses that have failed to follow the stay-at-home order. At least four businesses have already been referred to the city attorney's office for misdemeanor filings. On April 3, Google announced that it would offer user location data to federal government officials tracking the coronavirus. Google would provide the government with data about locations, movements, and the places people have visited. This new technology will have Big Brother to pry into our every move. This is frightening, and people are right to be concerned about it. And on April 4, in my home state of Ohio, a local prosecutor gave the approval for police to arrest Ohioans for violating the state's stay-at-home order and indicated that he would charge them with a felony. The prosecutor went so far as to say that if he were governor, he would send in the National Guard to keep people from exercising their First Amendment rights to worship in church. These three examples show that our liberties are always at risk from an intrusive government, especially under the guise of actions intended to protect us. We've seen this story before. In 2013, in the name of enforcing "social welfare" guidelines, the IRS targeted conservative nonprofit organizations for expressing their beliefs about political issues. Without nonprofit status, many of these groups lost donations and ceased operations. In 2016, in the name of fighting foreign influence in our elections, the FBI illegally spied on the Trump campaign. And we learned not long ago that the FBI's FISA abuses were even more widespread and systemic than we had previously thought. In a letter to his wife Abigail in 1775, John Adams wrote that "liberty once lost, is lost forever." We must remember his warning during these trying times. While the government has a role to play in preventing further contagion, it must exercise its power with the utmost caution. We cannot allow the cure for the coronavirus pandemic to be worse than the problem. Although this pandemic is serious, we must not forget our most basic liberties. If we do not protect these liberties from government overreach, we will likely lose them forever. Vigilance, now more than ever, is paramount. Jim Jordan, a Republican, represents Ohio's fourth congressional district in the U.S. House.

Congress convened a joint session on January 6-7, 2021, to count electoral votes by state and confirm the results of the 2020 presidential election. Jordan voted against certifying the electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania. The House rejected both objections by a vote of 121-303 for Arizona and 138-282 for Pennsylvania.