In a rare display of bipartisan unity, senators have unanimously approved a resolution to withhold their own salaries during government shutdowns.
The move is a direct response to a series of record-breaking federal impasses over the past year, aiming to make future closures financially punitive for lawmakers themselves.
This measure arrives as federal shutdowns have grown both longer and more frequent, sparking widespread frustration among legislators who believe Congress should face consequences for failing its fundamental legislative duties.
Under the newly passed resolution, senators’ pay will be withheld by the Secretary of the Senate whenever a government shutdown impacts one or more agencies.
Their salaries will then be released only once funding is fully restored. The resolution is set to take effect the day after the November 3 general election.
Sen John Kennedy, the bill’s sponsor, articulated the rationale in a floor speech. “Shutting down government should not be our default solution to our refusal to work out our issues and our differences,” he stated, adding, “This is about putting our money where our mouth is.”
The urgency for such a measure stems from two significant shutdowns in the past year that inflicted considerable financial hardship on tens of thousands of federal workers, particularly within the Department of Homeland Security.
The DHS reopened last month after a 76-day partial shutdown, marking the longest agency funding lapse in history. This followed closely on the heels of a 43-day lapse of the entire federal government, which itself was the longest such closure on record.
Historically, the Constitution mandates that lawmakers must be paid, meaning they have continued to receive their salaries during shutdowns even as federal workers went without paychecks.
During a full government shutdown in October, amid a dispute over healthcare subsidies, Senator Lindsey Graham proposed a constitutional amendment to compel members to forfeit their pay.
“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., asserted at the time.
He described his proposed legislation as the most “constitutionally sound” solution, though he acknowledged the significantly more laborious process of requiring ratification by three-fourths of states.
While lawmakers have often pledged to forgo their paychecks during previous shutdowns, Kennedy told reporters his current measure ensures “shared sacrifice.”
He conceded it doesn’t go as far as he would ideally like, but called it a “start.” When pressed on why the resolution doesn’t extend to the other chamber, Kennedy remarked that “the House’s business is the House’s business,” alluding to underlying tensions.
He concluded, “There’s a very strong undercurrent of animosity among some of my friends in the House,” and that “It’s quickly becoming like two kids fighting in the back of a minivan.”
