Two Democratic lawmakers cast 10 proxy votes each on House floor in favor of $740B spending bill

One Democratic lawmaker, Virginia Rep. Don Beyer, cast 10 proxy votes on the House floor on Friday in favor of the Democrats' $740 billion climate and healthcare spending bill, the Inflation Reduction Act.

Democratic Rep. Lou Correa of California also cast 10 proxy votes on behalf of lawmakers. New York Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman cast seven proxy votes on the floor.

In total, 187 House members submitted proxy voting letters authorizing other lawmakers to vote on their behalf ahead of Friday's vote, according to the House clerk website. This total represented about 35% of the House.

Proxy voting was first put in place as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi extended it through Sept. 26. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy has pledged to end the proxy voting system if the GOP wins back the majority in the House. 

The CBO said on Thursday that it needed more time to fully score the current Senate-passed version of the bill, but the House held the vote, and it passed with 220 votes from Democrats. There were 207 Republicans who voted against it, and 4 did not cast a vote. 

"Given the scope of the amendments to title I, Committee on Finance, CBO expects that it will be a few weeks before we can fully analyze and estimate those budgetary effects, at which point we will provide a complete cost estimate for the legislation," CBO Director Phillip Swagel wrote on Thursday in a letter that was sent to House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth from Kentucky. 

Democratic leaders used budget reconciliation to avoid the legislative filibuster in the 50-50 Senate. The Senate-passed version of the bill was not altered in the House. It now goes to President Biden's desk to be signed into law.