A House Democrat filed a bill to suspend lawmakers’ pay if the government shuts down, hoping to use the legislation as an incentive for Congress members to avoid disagreements over the budget.
Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) introduced the My Constituents Cannot Afford Rebellious Tantrums Handle Your Shutdown Act on Wednesday, nicknaming it the MCCARTHY Shutdown Act after the current House speaker. If passed, the bill would withhold paychecks for lawmakers if a federal government shutdown ensues until Congress passes its budget.
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“Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans are ready to shut down the federal government and put the livelihoods of working families at risk — while still collecting a paycheck,” Craig said in a statement. “Today, I’m introducing legislation to block Member pay during a McCarthy shutdown, because it’s ridiculous that we still get paid while folks like TSA workers are asked to work without a paycheck.”
In the event of a government shutdown, thousands of federal employees are furloughed without pay until a budget can be approved. Meanwhile, lawmakers still receive their full pay even while the government is not fully operational.
The bill comes just nine days before funding is set to lapse, sending the government into a shutdown until a spending agreement is approved by the House and Senate and then signed by the president.
Congress has until Sept. 30 to pass the budget for the next fiscal year, after which the government will run out of money and shut down until a deal is made. By then, lawmakers must advance 12 appropriations bills in each chamber before sending their final product to the president’s desk for approval, setting the stage for an arduous process as House Republicans and Senate Democrats disagree on top-line spending numbers.
If Congress can’t pass all 12 of its bills before the end of the month, lawmakers will typically agree to a continuing resolution that allows the government to operate at the same spending levels until a new agreement is made. Members of the House Freedom and Main Street caucuses unveiled their own continuing resolution proposal over the weekend that would keep the government funded throughout October and bring spending to $1.59 trillion, the spending level set in the bipartisan debt ceiling deal signed into law in June.
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However, more than a dozen House Republicans have come out in opposition to the deal, sending GOP leaders back to the drawing board in order to get all corners of their conference to agree.
It’s unclear when the House plans to reconvene to vote on any spending legislation, throwing the House into uncertainty as GOP leaders scramble to unify their party. Members were advised on Tuesday afternoon to keep their schedules “flexible” over the coming days, with a possibility lawmakers may need to meet over the weekend for votes.