How bipartisan lawmakers are pushing Congress to update its voting rules for new parents

When the House of Representatives was sworn in on January 3, Brittany Pettersen was pushing her luck in being there.

When the House of Representatives was sworn in on January 3, Brittany Pettersen was pushing her luck in being there. The Colorado Democrat was just three weeks away from giving birth to her son, Sam, which she wanted to do in her congressional district with her family, not in Washington. So when she returned home a few days after the 119th Congress began, she stayed. “I had hit the point where, you know, medical professionals tell you not to fly. It’s too dangerous, and airlines won’t let you on the plane when you’re that close to your due date,” Pettersen recalled. She missed 41 House votes between leaving to give birth and racing back with her newborn for a crucial budget vote on February 25 – which she cast with baby Sam cradled in her arms. “Just taking them out, even going to the grocery store or something like that. You’re worried about germs, exposure, you’re worried about putting them in a car. So it was scary the first time that I flew with him,” Pettersen recalled.