WASHINGTON (TNND) — Senators approved a resolution to withhold their pay during future government shutdowns on Thursday.
The unanimous bipartisan support for the measure comes as shutdowns and federal closures have grown in frequency and length over the last year, with lawmakers growing frustrated and pushing for punishment when Congress fails to advance legislation.
Senate unanimously backs plan to withhold senators’ pay during future shutdowns (SENATE TV via CNN Newsource)
With the resolution, senators’ pay will be withheld by the Secretary of the Senate whenever a shutdown impacts one or more agencies. The pay will be released once funding is restored.
The resolution takes effect the day after the November 3 general election. It does not apply to the House.
In a floor speech on Wednesday, Senator John Kennedy, R-La., said shutting down the government should not be the default solution to “our refusal to work out our issues and our differences.”
Kennedy described the resolution as “putting our money where our mouth is.”
The senator said he pushed his measure to create a “shared sacrifice” during shutdowns and that it doesn’t go as far as he likes, but said it was a start.
In the last year, two separate shutdowns have impacted thousands of federal workers, with the latest impacting the Department of Homeland Security. DHS reopened in April after the 76-day partial shutdown, which is the longest agency funding lapse in history.
A few months before the DHS shutdown, there was a 43-day shutdown of the entire federal government, the longest on record.
When the full federal government shutdown over healthcare subsidies began in October, Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., proposed a constitutional amendment requiring members to forfeit their paychecks when the government is closed. Right now, the lawmakers still do get paid while federal workers do not, the Constitution says.
“If members of Congress had to forfeit their pay during government shutdowns, there would be fewer shutdowns and they would end quicker,” Graham said.
Graham said his legislation was the most “constitutionally sound” way to address the issue, even though it may take longer, as three-fourths of states would have to ratify an amendment.
During past shutdowns, different lawmakers have taken to social media to pledge to forgo their paychecks. Senators earn an annual salary of $174,000.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.