WASHINGTON – Since the government shut down on October 1, many federal employees are working without pay, have been furloughed, or have even been laid off.
While these workers will have to go without pay, members of Congress will still receive their paychecks. That’s because lawmakers’ pay is protected under Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution. Their staffers’ is not.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) is one of a handful of lawmakers who disagree with the law. On September 30, just before the government shut down, Norman reintroduced a constitutional amendment that would bar members of Congress from receiving compensation in “any period during which a Government shutdown is in effect.”
“Members of Congress have a constitutional duty to fund the government’s essential functions,” Norman said in a press release. “If Congress fails to meet that obligation, we should not expect taxpayers to continue paying us for inaction.”
In addition to Norman’s proposed constitutional amendment, the No Budget, No Pay Act introduced by Rep. Tim Moore (R-N.C.) in the House and sponsored by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in the Senate, similarly proposes that members of Congress not be paid in a fiscal year until “both chambers approve the budget resolution and pass all regular appropriations bills for that fiscal year.”
“Congress has a responsibility to the American people to pass a budget and appropriate funds in a timely, transparent manner,” Moore said. “The No Budget, No Pay Act will enforce a return to regular order by holding Members of Congress directly accountable: no budget, no paycheck.”
Though so far these charges have mainly been led by Republican lawmakers, the content of these bills echoes the sentiments of members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.
“It’s wrong that the President and Members of Congress get paid during a government shutdown when our military and public servants don’t,” said Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) in a statement before the shutdown began. “I will be refusing my own pay if we end up in a shutdown. Government leaders shouldn’t be playing with other people’s chips.”
Since the start of the shutdown, Kim has joined the roughly two dozen lawmakers, both Republican and Democratic, who have asked for their pay to be withheld. For some of these lawmakers, refusing pay while the shutdown continues is just common sense.
“Accountability is not optional,” Norman said. “It is the foundation of public service, and Congress must be held to the same standard as the people we represent.”
Other lawmakers are also choosing to redirect or donate their shutdown pay to charity. Sens. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) say they are both donating their paychecks to local nonprofit organizations in their respective states.
“Each day the government remains closed, I will be donating my salary to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay which provides help to vulnerable populations who may be impacted,” Moody said.
However, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) has refused to call lawmakers back into session, stating: “We’re barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history.” The shutdown can’t end, nor can the proposed amendment or the No Budget, No Pay Act be called for a vote until the House is back in session.
Norman, alongside other lawmakers, vow to continue to have pay withheld until the shutdown ends.
“No one else in America would get paid for failing to fulfill their duties,” Norman said. “Congress should face the same principle.”
