Here are lawmakers diverting pay in solidarity with shutdown employees – By Emily Kopp (rollcall.com) / Jan 4 2019
Thousands of civilian workers will not receive paychecks due next week if deal to end shutdown isn’t reached
Several lawmakers have declared they will decline their paycheck or will donate it to charity in solidarity with civilian workers furloughed or working without pay.
Federal workers received their regular paychecks last week for work completed before the shutdown, but if a spending agreement is not reached soon, thousands could see a delay in paychecks scheduled for next Friday.
About 800,000 federal employees at several agencies — Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, State, Transportation, and Treasury — face tough financial decisions.
“It’s very difficult to figure out how long we can survive with the savings we have,” David Arvelo, a health communications specialist at the Food and Drug Administration, told CNBC.
Utah Rep. John Curtis introduced the “No Work, No Pay Act of 2019” on Thursday to freeze congressional pay when any federal agency undergoes a shutdown due to a lack of funds normally allocated by Congress.
“The American people expect Congress to do its most basic job: pass a budget and fund the government. If we can’t, then we shouldn’t get paid,” Curtis said in a statement.
Meanwhile, newly sworn-in Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, said he would continue to collect his paycheck, describing the shows of solidarity by other lawmakers as “gimmicky,” the Grand Folks Herald reported.
“I have no intention of donating my salary while working,” Cramer said to the paper. “The government isn’t shut down, only about 25 percent of it.”
The office of the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives declined to provide a list of members who have requested that their paycheck be withheld.
The government has interpreted the 27th Amendment of the Constitution to prohibit lawmakers from refusing their pay.
Here are some of the members of Congress forgoing their pay as the shutdown drags on:
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut: Blumenthal pledged to donate the salary he earns during the shutdown to Homes For The Brave, which provides housing for the homeless with an emphasis on veterans. “Least I can do,” Blumenthal said.
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii: “More than 2,500 federal workers in Hawaii are either furloughed or working without pay during the holidays because Donald Trump shut down the government.” Hirono said in a statement. “As long as Donald Trump refuses to re-open the government, I will be donating my salary to Hawaii’s food banks — who serve nearly one in eight Hawaii residents in need.” Hirono committed her salary to three food banks in Oahu and Kauai, Maui and Hawaii island.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, said in a statement to Forum News Service that he plans on donating his salary to the North Dakota National Guard Foundation.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada: “Sadly, President Trump has brought our country into yet another crisis right before the holidays,” the senator said in a statement hours before the shutdown was triggered. “The President can end the Trump shutdown today. Until then, I cannot take a salary knowing that so many federal workers in Nevada and across the country will go without pay.” Cortez Masto said she would allocate her salary to Nevada charities, but did not name them.
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada: Rosen pledged her salary to state organizations “aimed at helping survivors of sexual and domestic violence.” Rosen called attention to lapsed authorization for the Violence Against Women Act, which funds social service agencies including rape crisis centers, women’s shelters and legal-assistance programs.
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minnesota: Smith has pledged to donate her salary to The Advocates for Human Rights, a spokesman said.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts: “Over 7,000 people in Massachusetts have been sent home or are working without pay during the #TrumpShutdown,” Warren wrote on Twitter this week. Warren said she would donate her salary to HIAS, a nonprofit that helps refugees.
Rep. Don Bacon, R- Nebraska: “Fairness and decency dictates that my pay also be withheld,” Bacon wrote in his letter to the House administrator.
Rep. Susan Brooks, R-Indiana: “I submitted a letter this morning requesting my pay be withheld for the duration of the shutdown,” Brooks tweeted the day after the shutdown began.
Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Florida: “I will not be accepting any pay for as long as the federal government remains shut down. This is yet another sad example of Washington’s dysfunction and inability to compromise,” Buchanan wrote in a tweet. A spokesman added that Buchanan will donate the sum of his deferred salary to charity.
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming: Cheney asked her salary be withheld in a letter to the House administrator. “I do not believe it is appropriate for Members of Congress to continue to be paid while we remain in a partial government shutdown,” the House Republican Conference chair wrote.
Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minnesota: “As I’ve previously committed to, I believe in No Government, No Pay — I would not be accepting pay during this or any future shutdown,” Craig said in a tweet on Dec. 22. “This reckless shutdown is an attack on the hard work federal employees do everyday to provide critical services to millions of Americans.”
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-New York: Espaillat pledged to forgo his salary in solidarity with New York’s 14,000 federal employees, he said in a tweet.
Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Pennsylvania: Evans spoke with an air traffic control worker and a mother affected by the shutdown. “[Because] of workers like her, I’m asking the House to withhold my salary until federal workers receive their hard-earned [money]!” he tweeted Wednesday.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania: Not only did Fitzpatrick commit to delaying his pay, he also promised to send his paycheck back to the U.S. Treasury. “I will be leading by example,” he said in a statement. “I am not only encouraging, but I am urging, all my colleagues, both Republican and Democrat, to do the same.” The congressman also reintroduced a constitutional amendment on Thursday aimed at preventing members of Congress from being paid if it fails to pass a budget. The effort would “dock pay for time without a budget as opposed to simply putting member salaries in escrow until end of term,” a spokesman said.
Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Montana: “I strongly believe it is inappropriate for members of Congress to be paid while portions of the federal government remain shut down,” Gianforte wrote in a letter requesting that his pay be withheld.
Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Oklahoma: “I do not believe that Members of Congress should be paid during period of shutdown,” Hern wrote on Facebook. He is donating his salary to veterans’ groups.
Rep. French Hill, R-Arkansas: “I cannot in good conscience accept pay while federal employees are not receiving theirs,” Hill wrote on Facebook. Hill wrote a letter to the House administrator asking his pay be withheld.
Rep. George Holding, R-North Carolina: “I will not be accepting any pay for the duration of the government shutdown,” Holding tweeted hours before the shutdown went into effect.
Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas: “There’s no good reason why Members of #Congress should continue to receive pay during a needless government #shutdown while other federal employees suffer,” Hurd wrote on Facebook. “That’s why I also plan to ask that my salary be withheld while we work to restore government funding.”
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina: Foxx submitted a letter on Dec. 22 asking that her pay be suspended until an appropriations agreement takes effect.
Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio: “If Congress can’t keep the government fully operational, we shouldn’t get paid. It’s that simple,” Joyce said in a tweet.
Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nevada: “It is wrong that hundreds of thousands of Americans — including many in Nevada’s 3rd congressional district — don’t know when their next paycheck will come,” Lee said in a statement. “So, as this shutdown continues, I will not take a paycheck, and will continue to refuse my pay until the hardworking men and women across the country get theirs.”
Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Virginia:“Congress should not be rewarded for poor performance,” Luria said in a statement. Luria expressed concern in particular for the U.S. Coast Guard service members in her district, who could see a delay in the paycheck they are due on Jan. 15.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-New York: “If federal workers don’t get paid, neither should Congress,” Maloney wrote in a tweet Wednesday. Maloney is a cosponsor of the No Budget, No Pay Act, which withholds the salaries of members of Congress if it fails to pass a budget.
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-North Carolina: Many civilian workers expressed outrage when Meadows said stretches without pay are “actually part of what you do when you sign up for any public service position.” The next day the Freedom Caucus chair sent a letter to the House administrator declaring that “as long as our border security agents, air traffic controllers and TSA agents are not paid and their families not supported, I will not accept any salary.”
Rep. Paul Mitchell, R-Michigan: Mitchell posted his letter requesting the House administrator withhold his pay on Facebook as the shutdown began.
Rep. Tom O’Halleran, D-Arizona: “It is troubling that the White House and Congressional leaders are allowing partisan gridlock to get in the way of funding our government and preventing a shutdown yet again,” the Blue Dog Coalition chair said in a statement in which he promised to forgo his salary.
Rep. Pete Olson, R-Texas: “Federal employees should not be held hostage to dysfunction & inability to solve the problem,” Olson tweeted. The congressman supports a constitutional amendment to make furloughed Congressional salaries standard during shutdowns.
Rep. Chris Pappas, D-New Hampshire: Pappas asked the House administrator to withhold his pay. The freshman member said simply, “Congress doesn’t deserve to get paid.”
Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Illinois: In addition to pledging his salary to charity during the shutdown, Schneider cosponsored the Hold Congress Accountable Act. The bill would prevent members of Congress from accepting a paycheck during a government shutdown.
Rep. Max Rose, D-New York: “This shutdown is an insult to Americans who work their heart out every day because unlike Congress, they can’t afford to act like children,” Rose said in a statement announcing he would forgo his paycheck. “Other members will have to make their own decisions, but until the shutdown ends, hundreds of thousands of families don’t have that choice,” a spokesman added.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-New Jersey: “This morning I requested that my pay be withheld until the shutdown is over. 800,000 federal workers are not receiving their paychecks, including 1,000s in New Jersey,” Sherrill said in a tweet. “I came here to govern, not engage in partisan politics at the expense of hardworking Americans.”
Rep. Ross Spano, R-Florida: “I would support legislation forcing members of Congress to forfeit pay during any government shutdown, and I pledge not to take a paycheck until this impasse is resolved,” Spano said in a statement on Thursday.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-New York: Stefanik posted her letter to the House administrator on Twitter requesting her pay be withheld.
Rep. Van Taylor, R-Texas: “Members of Congress should not be paid when critical federal employees, including our border patrol agents, are denied their paychecks,” Taylor tweeted Thursday.
Rep. Mark Walker, R-North Carolina: “As liberals refuse to secure our border and drag on this partial shutdown, they’re hurting the very people open border policies pressure the most: our Border Patrol agents,” Walker said in a tweet. “As long as these brave men and women are forced to work without a paycheck, I will be refusing mine as well.” The congressman included a picture of him signing a letter to the House administrator requesting a suspension in his pay.
Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Florida: “It is my goal to end the shutdown while providing adequate border security as possible. Until then, I do not believe it appropriate for Members of Congress to be paid while federal employees critical to our national security are not,” Waltz wrote in a letter to the chief administrative officer.
Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Virginia: Wexton, whose Northern Virginia district is home to a number of federal employees, said she asked the administrative office to hold her pay until the shutdown is resolved. “Because members of Congress continue to receive their pay during these shutdowns even though our constituents do not, please withhold my pay until an appropriations agreement has been reached and other federal employees begin receiving their pay,” she wrote.
Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-New York: “It’s crazy to me that Members of Congress get paid while military service members do not,” Zeldin said in a statement. “I just told the House Chief Administrative Officer to withhold my pay until the government reopens.”
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