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Should Congressmen be paid if/when Congress shuts down?
Senators say Congress, president should ‘feel the pain’ of a shutdown – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs
Senators say Congress, president should ‘feel the pain’ of a shutdown – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs
The specter of a government shutdown has been hanging over the current debate on a government spending bill. The funding measure expires March 4th, and if the two parties can't come to an agreement on spending cuts before then, a short term measure to keep the government running would need to pass to avoid a government shutdown.
Members of Congress and the president fall under mandatory spending and their paychecks would not be affected in the case of a shutdown, according to Sens. Boxer and Casey. Under their proposal, that loophole would close. Additionally, the legislation would not allow back pay for lawmakers and the president for any days worked during a shutdown.
"If the government is forced to shut down, members of Congress and the president should be treated the same way as all other federal employees," said Sen. Boxer. "We should not be paid, and to take it one step further, we should not be paid retroactively once the government reopens."