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Senators unanimously approved a resolution Thursday to withhold their pay during\u00a0government shutdowns, an attempt to make federal closures financially painful for lawmakers after a string of record-breaking impasses in the past year.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Under the resolution, senators\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cShutting down government should not be our default solution to our refusal to work out our issues and our differences,\u201d said Sen. John Kennedy, the bill\u2019s sponsor, in a floor speech Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about putting our money where our mouth is,\u201d said Kennedy, R-La.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0longest agency funding lapse\u00a0in history.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf members of Congress had to forfeit their pay during government shutdowns, there would be fewer shutdowns and they would end quicker,\u201d Graham, R-S.C., said at the time.<\/p>\n
Graham said his legislation was the most \u201cconstitutionally sound\u201d way to deal with the problem, but the process would have been much more laborious as three-fourths of states must ratify an amendment.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers in previous shutdowns have often pledged to forgo their paychecks while federal workers went unpaid.<\/p>\n
Kennedy told reporters Wednesday that he pushed his measure to ensure there is \u201cshared sacrifice\u201d during shutdowns. He added that it does not go as far as he would like, but that it\u2019s a start.<\/p>\n
Asked why it does not extend to the other chamber of Congress, Kennedy said \u201cthe House\u2019s business is the House\u2019s business\u201d while also touching on the tensions between the Senate and House.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a very strong undercurrent of animosity among some of my friends in the House,\u201d Kennedy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s quickly becoming like two kids fighting in the back of a minivan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
#Senators #put #money #mouth #approve #withholding #pay #government #shutdowns<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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