Schock skips House votes

Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.), who will resign at the end of this month amid allegations of improper spending, skipped votes on Wednesday for the second day in a row.

Schock’s absence helps him avoid encounters with the horde of reporters who regularly gather around the House chamber during votes. Skipping votes after he announced his impending resignation on Tuesday afternoon also limits potentially awkward moments on the floor with fellow lawmakers.

{mosads}The Illinois Republican last voted Monday night on three noncontroversial healthcare-related bills.

The news of Schock’s departure as examples of apparently misreported spending disclosures mounted broke shortly after the first series of House votes Tuesday afternoon. He was a no-show for both series of votes that day.

Schock’s resignation will become effective on March 31. That means he still has more than a week left worth of votes until then, including for the House GOP budget resolution and a measure to prevent cuts in Medicare physician payments next week.

So far, Schock has missed votes on two bills to rein in the Environmental Protection Agency. One would reform the membership of a scientific advisory board, while the other would prevent the agency from basing regulations on scientific data not made available to the public.