Rep. Steve Pearce proposes 'virtual' Congress

Rep. Steve Pearce, after more than a decade in the House, thinks he knows why people are so unhappy with Congress. Once elected, lawmakers become creatures of Washington and lose touch with the people who sent them there.

To fix it, the New Mexico Republican has proposed a resolution that would let lawmakers work the way millions of others do: remotely.

His resolution, H.Res. 298, encourages the House Administration Committee to explore ways to let members work in a "virtual setting." That would include letting members debate, vote, and even attend hearings while they're home.

"The biggest complaint that exists about Washington is that they seem to be out of touch with the voters," Pearce told the Washington Examiner. "And so, the ultimate impact would be to put us extremely back in touch with our voters."

Pearce believes this move would bring dramatic changes to Congress. To Pearce, working remotely isn't about letting lawmakers skip their morning shower and letting them lounge around the basement all day.

"I wouldn't visualize us sitting at home," he said.

Instead, he imagines moving around his huge district in New Mexico, and letting voters watch live as he debates and votes in committee or on the floor. Pearce wants to set up huge screens in local auditoriums to let people watch what Congress is doing up close, while their representative is in the room with them.

He thinks the pressure of having real people watch the process live would give members a new perspective.

"If you were facing your constituents rather than the lobbyists, there would be a great accountability that would change the pulse of this place within hours," he said.

For Pearce, there's no reason not to do it. The technology exists, and is already being used in the private sector.

"All kinds of corporate boards meet like this already, and it saves time, saves energy," said Pearce, who logs several hours each week commuting to and from New Mexico.

But convenience is just part of it. The biggest change, Pearce said, would be a stronger connection to real people, and a more distant relationship with lobbyists.

"The lobbyists should have to work harder to see us, and our constituents should have to work easier," he said. "We've got it upside down."

Could his plan ever take off in the House? Pearce thinks House leaders of either party will resist it, since it makes their jobs harder.

"It would make it more difficult for leadership to kind of direct traffic the way they do," he said. "I don't think that they're very accommodating to it, or would like the idea much."

That hasn't stopped him from urging the House Rules Committee to consider the idea.

"With modern technology, Congress has the ability to be in our districts while we debate and carry out our congressional duties," he wrote to them in a letter this month. "Keeping legislators closer to the people we represent would allow constituents to see and feel, first-hand, their government at work and have the potential to save millions in travel expenses."

Eventually, Pearce figures, voters will demand the change.

"I think it's something that the people will eventually insist on," he said. "They get pretty furious when they elect folks and they come up here, and you know, pretty soon they're part of the system up here."