With the ongoing government shutdown now the longest such impasse in American history, some lawmakers are attempting to ensure that members of Congress go without paychecks just as thousands of federal workers have been forced to do.
On Thursday, Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott sought unanimous consent for what he called the “No Budget, No Pay Act,” which would cause legislators’ paychecks to be halted until the shutdown concludes, but the effort was blocked by liberal Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), as the Daily Caller reports.
After Scott introduced the measure, a floor debate ensued, revealing Markey’s opposition to the proposal.
Markey noted that he had already requested a deferment of his own government pay until the shutdown ends, a declaration that prompted questions and incredulity from Scott.
“If he’s willing to defer his paycheck, why wouldn’t he allow my bill to pass that all of us should defer our paychecks until government gets open again?” Scott wondered.
The Massachusetts Democrat is not the only member of the upper chamber who has balked at the idea of missing paychecks in solidarity with federal workers across the country who have gone without salaries amid the continued funding impasse.
Sen. Ruben Gallego stated weeks ago that he simply could not afford to go without a paycheck, a sentiment with which countless government employees can relate, despite their own inability to solve the situation that keeps them unpaid.
Last week, Sen. John Kennedy also attempted to put a stop to lawmaker paychecks until the shutdown standoff concludes, trying to pass three measures via unanimous consent that would have done just that.
Democrat Patty Murray (D-WA) stood in opposition to Kennedy’s proposals, but, to the frustration of many, so did Republican Sen. Rand Paul (KY).
Kennedy delivered pointed remarks on the issue, underscoring that “folks aren’t being paid while we’re in a shutdown. Our air traffic controllers are not being paid. In fact, starting tomorrow, the airlines are going to be cancelling flights. Our staff are not being paid… Our military is only being partially paid… The only people that I can ascertain who are being paid are members of Congress.”
Opining that “it’s time that Congress set an example,” Kennedy said, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” and he urged his Senate colleagues to support the “No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act.”
Paul, however, was having none of it, and he proceeded to object to the measures proposed by Kennedy, with Murray also blocking the Louisiana Republican’s push to pass Sen. Ron Johnson’s “Shutdown Fairness Act” that would pay federal workers deemed “essential.”
The dispute over lawmaker pay during the shutdown sparked a reaction from President Donald Trump, who took to Truth Social and wrote, “It was so interesting yesterday when our Great Senator from Louisiana, John Kennedy, introduced a Bill in an attempt to withhold Members of Congress from getting paid, and Rand Paul, who never votes for anything, tried to stop it, because he wanted to be paid!”
Trump went on, “In other words, Rand wanted to pay the people who stopped Government from working! What’s going on with Rand?” surely echoing the sentiments of millions who would have liked to see Scott’s or Kennedy’s commonsense proposals pass with ease.
