Over the past 100 votes taken in the U.S. House of Representatives, Alaska often has had no one present to represent them. Alaska has been unrepresented for 40 of the last 100 votes taken, as Rep. Mary Peltola has gone missing. She was absent for votes on everything from protecting America from foreign adversaries to finding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress.
Last week she said she would be gone all week to abide by a Yup’ik tradition of spending a whole week celebrating the life of her late husband on the one-year anniversary of his death. It was cultural. However, she was actually campaigning much of the week, according to her subsequent social media posts.
In July, she was not voting because cutting and smoking fish with her family — again, saying this is a cultural tradition that required her to be there to feed her family, which is made up of mostly able-bodied people. She gets $174,000 per year salary for being a member of Congress and all her travel is free.
Her congressional colleagues were voting on issues like the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which strengthens voting security. They voted on the Refrigerator Freedom Act, which places limits on the authority of the Department of Energy to enforce onerous energy standards for refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers unless the standards are technologically feasible and economically justified.
She missed votes on the Department of Homeland Security’s “DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act.” She also missed other votes relating to China.
Her voting record this summer is nothing to write home about. It looks a lot like this:
Although Peltola told Alaskans she was using the week for cultural traditions, she posted numerous photos of herself on social media at fundraisers, including photos of fundraisers posted on Sept. 12, the exact one year anniversary of Gene Peltola Jr.’s death.
House Rule III, clause 1, “Voting” reads: “Every Member shall be present within the Hall of the House during its sitting, unless excused or necessarily prevented, and shall vote on each question put, unless having a direct personal or pecuniary interest in the event of such question.”
Statute (2 USC 5306) permits the chief administrative officer to deduct from members’ monthly salaries “for each day that [s]he has been absent from the House,” unless the member “assigns as the reason for such absence the sickness of himself or of some family member.” None of that seems to apply to Rep. Peltola, who just has not shown up to the office for 40% of the time the entire summer.
She was out shopping. You know, updating her Yup’ik-inspired wardrobe. She just wouldn’t look like an authentic Alaskan without the right earrings and parka.
While “AWOL” over the summer for 40% of the time, I bet she took in 100% of her pay – benefits and contributions!!! For the rest of us commoners // peasants, we would be fired (unless of course we worked at the City, State or Feds).
Let’s show our heartfelt appreciation by “FIRING” Mary in November, send her back to where her heart and spirit truly lies, on the river bank in Western AK.
Ya can’t establish a voting “record” that can be used againat ya when the hold you have on your seat is tenuous.
At least when Obama in the US Senate, he’d would show up and vote “Present”………meaning he was there, not that he was giving us a gift or anything like he is now.
The bright side:
She hurt the US 40% less.
It looks like she took a page from Matt Claman’s book.