WASHINGTON — Remote testimony saved Guam officials about 48 hours and nearly $2,000 in round-trip airfare for a one-hour hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee last year. It allowed a doctor to testify about female veterans’ access to medical care before the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and then perform surgery in Seattle. And it meant a wheelchair user could speak in a closed-door meeting without navigating air travel.
But as Republicans take control of the House, they are reversing many of the practices that rankled them during the pandemic. They have all but eliminated remote witnesses in the 118th Congress, to the dismay of Democrats still wanting to hear from people who can’t physically zoom to Washington.
Under the House rules package adopted on Jan. 9, federal government witnesses are prohibited from testifying remotely in committees. Nongovernment witnesses must appear in person, too — though the committee chair can ask Majority Leader Steve Scalise for written approval to waive the rule in cases of “extreme hardship or other exceptional circumstances.”
