Senators have unanimously approved a resolution to withhold their pay during government shutdowns.
, an attempt to make federal closures financially painful for lawmakers after a string of record-breaking impasses in the past year. The bipartisan support for the measure comes at a time when federal closures have become longer and more frequent, frustrating lawmakers who say there should be punishment when Congress fails at its most basic legislative duty.
Under the resolution, senators’ pay would be withheld by the secretary of the Senate whenever a government shutdown affects one or more agencies, then released once funding is restored. It will take effect the day after the Nov. 3 general election.
“Shutting down government should not be our default solution to our refusal to work out our issues and our differences,” said Sen. John Kennedy, the bill’s sponsor, in a floor speech Wednesday. Two shutdowns in the past year created significant financial hardship for tens of thousands of federal workers, particularly at the Department of Homeland Security.
The department reopened last month after a 76-day partial shutdown, the The DHS shutdown came just a few months after a 43-day lapse of the entire federal government, which was the longest such closure on record. The Constitution stipulates that lawmakers must be paid so they have received salaries during shutdowns even as federal workers went without paychecks. When the full government shutdown began in October amid a dispute over health care subsidies, Sen.
Lindsey Graham proposed a constitutional amendment to require members to forfeit their paychecks when the government is closed.
“If members of Congress had to forfeit their pay during government shutdowns, there would be fewer shutdowns and they would end quicker,” Graham, R-S.C. , said at the time. Graham said his legislation was the most “constitutionally sound” way to deal with the problem, but the process would have been much more laborious as three-fourths of states must ratify an amendment. Lawmakers in previous shutdowns have often pledged to forgo their paychecks while federal workers went unpaid.
Kennedy told reporters Wednesday that he pushed his measure to ensure there is “shared sacrifice” during shutdowns. He added that it does not go as far as he would like, but that it’s a start. Asked why it does not extend to the other chamber of Congress, Kennedy said “the House’s business is the House’s business” while also touching on the tensions between the Senate and House.
“There’s a very strong undercurrent of animosity among some of my friends in the House,” Kennedy said. MCSO: 1 arrested for murder after stabbing at graduation party‘Looking forward to my day in court’: Boutique owner arrested 17 times since Jan. 11 dead, 1 injured after shooting in Mobile’s Happy Hill communityTwo women slap each other on Carnival cruise to Mobile, face federal chargesOklahoma’s Richard Glossip, who was nearly executed 3 times, granted bond while awaiting retrial‘Like a little kid at a candy store:’ Dog missing for 2 years found nearly 60 miles away from home
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