Members of Congress should not be paid during a government shutdown. Congressional members need strict term limits.
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Term limits, absolute YES.
There have been several attempts to pass laws to prevent payment during a shutdown, or reaching the debt ceiling, but since the people voting on limiting their pay are the same people getting the pay cut, obviously the went nowhere. One note of interest, at least one of them does not cut the pay, it just holds the amount until the end of the term or session, they still get paid, just not during the shutdown. I believe it is just like most of the Federal employees who are not getting paid now.
May 2023 - “https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/3538/text” H.R.3538 - No Pay for Congress During Default or Shutdown Act
March 2025 - In the House - “Vindman, Fitzpatrick Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Block Congressional Pay During Defaults or Shutdowns | Representative Eugene Vindman
Jan. 2025 - “https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/88/all-info#cosponsors-content” - All Information (Except Text) for S.88 - No Budget, No Pay Act
Oct. 2025 - 6 days ago - Bill above received new co-sponsors - “Husted backs bill to prohibit member pay during government shutdown - Senator Husted
If congress shut down for 30 days, each member would lose about $14,500 ($174,000 per year / 12).
The top 394 members have a net worth of over half a million dollars not counting the value of their primary residence. The top 332 over a million. $14,500 is pocket change to most of them.
We need something that hurts them, like if you do not pass a budget in time, you are prevented from holding any Federal off in the future, or you permanently lose all Federal benefits. Something substantial. But again, the people voting on the rule are the people punished by the rule. It will never happen.
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I could be weird on this but I actually welcome the shutdown so I’m not inclined to support anything that would discourage it.
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A Republican Congressman from Utah already put forth a bill that says Congress shouldn’t be paid if there’s a shutdown. Of course all the Dems voted against it.
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The only way around the logjam of getting Congress to limit itself is through a Convention of States as outlined in Article V of the US Constitution. There is a movement currently to create and pass amendments including a balanced budget and term limits for Congress, amongst others. More info at https://conventionofstatesfoundation.org/
There is much controversy concerning a COS, most of it disinformation put out by the Soros and Bloomberg organizations, no surprise there.
If more of us who want limits to federal over-reach support a COS by writing their state level legislators, we could help move the idea along and get results.
Position update; Congress persons should NEVER be paid in the first place.
When does the actual government shut down begin?
Well, to do that you need a Constitutional amendment. Note, in the Constitution it allows them to set their own compensation. Nice.
“The Compensation Clause of Article I, Section 6, Clause 1 provides for the national government to compensate Members of Congress for their services in amounts set by congressional legislation. With the ratification of the Twenty-Seventh Amendment on May 7, 1992,1 congressional legislation varying—decreasing or increasing—the level of Members’ compensation may not take effect until an intervening election has occurred.”
“https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S6-C1-1/ALDE_00001044/”
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Moves like this are political posturing and have little chance of even getting to comittee let alone getting voted on. The bill is introduced to curry favor constituents, which leads to a bump in fund raising. The only way the power, influence, and pay of congress could be curtailed or reduced is if the states themselves wield the power given to them by the Constitution and pass resolutions to call for an Article V Convention to propose amendments to the Constitution. Those amendments must then be ratified by the states (38 states) before becoming part of the Constitution. The Congress has no say, no recourse.
Senator John Kennedy! I just LOVE this man. He has so much common sense, seems like a very nice man, and is so damned funny! I could listen to him all day! He said something, proposing two bills, something I even wondered if it could be done…If there is a government shutdown causing many areas of government to go without pay, including programs that the American people rely on, then all of Congress should not be paid either! Hey, if they are responsible for the shutdown, they need to face the consequences! Senator Kennedy spoke of two bills: in one, Congress doesn’t get paid and does not receive back pay when the government opens. The other bill, Congress doesn’t get paid during the shutdown, but gets back pay when the government opens back up. I love the first option better! Heck, these Congress people aren’t going to suffer. They all seem to have more money than what they receive in salaries! Then there is Rand Paul, who objected to Senator Kennedy. I don’t like Rand Paul at all. He seems like a "snake in the grass’ to me. He was talking wishy-washy…people who show up for work should get paid. No, there are lots of people who come to church and warm a pew bench, but they never live a life of love and service to others. So, should God reward these people with blessings or a ticket to heaven? Absolutely not!
The second post.
“Congress should not be paid during a government shutdown - #2 by ffemt1