Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) announced that he would be introducing two bills that would withhold paychecks from Congressional lawmakers during government shutdowns.
Kennedy plans to introduce two bills, one of which is called, “No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act,” while the other is called the “Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act,” Fox News reported. Kennedy explained to the outlet that his “bills ensure Congress feels the same pain as” people such as federal workers and air traffic controllers are feeling without being paid during the shutdown.
“I don’t see missing paychecks or empty dinner plates as leverage or bargaining chips,” Kennedy pointed out. “My bills ensure Congress feels the same pain as the folks we’re failing to pay — our troops, air traffic controllers, and federal workers. If we can’t do our jobs and fund the government, we don’t deserve a paycheck — plain and simple.”
Under Kennedy’s first bill, the “No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act,” for each day of a government shutdown, lawmakers would “go without pay.” Under Kennedy’s second bill, the “Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act,” the bill would “sidestep the 27th Amendment” by placing lawmakers’ paychecks “in escrow until after the November 2026 elections.”
However, under Article 1, Section 6 of the U.S. Constitution, “Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.”
Article 1, Section 6 of the U.S. Constitution states:
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
The 27th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution also states:
No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI), who is reportedly carrying the second bill in the House, explained to the outlet that if U.S. military servicemembers and “other essential employees” have been faced with working without receiving their paychecks during the shutdown, “Members of Congress should not be paid either.”
On Wednesday, while speaking on the floor of the Senate, Kennedy revealed that he would be “bringing two bills before the Senate” on Thursday, regarding the ongoing government shutdown and Congressional lawmakers being paid. Kennedy predicted that while there have been rumors of agreements between Democrats and Republicans to end the shutdown, the shutdown would continue for “a while longer.”
“We’re on day 36,” Kennedy stated, noting that there were rumors of the government shutdown coming to an end. “We’ve been that close for a week, frankly. I hope I’m wrong in saying this, but, I don’t think we’re really that close. I wish we were, and I hope we are, but I think we’re going to be in the shutdown a while longer.”
“In the meantime, none of our staffs are being paid. No federal employees are being paid,” Kennedy added. “I got some numbers in this morning that federal workers have had to borrow $365 million so far during this 36-day shutdown in order just to pay their rent. Our military is only being paid partially. Our air traffic controllers are not being paid. People who receive SNAP payments are only being partially paid.”
As the government shutdown has stretched to 36 days, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been faced with halting flights to locations such as Newark Liberty International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport due to staffing shortages of air traffic controllers. Air traffic controllers are among the people who have been going without pay during the ongoing shutdown.
On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that if the shutdown continued into next week, the Department of Transportation may be faced with closing “certain parts of the airspace.”
Billionaire Timothy Mellon, an ally of President Donald Trump, previously contributed $130 million to the Department of War so that U.S. military servicemembers could be paid. Prior to Mellon’s donation, Trump had directed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth “to use all available funds” to ensure that U.S. troops were paid on October 15th.
The government shutdown has also affected Congressional staff — who were informed near the end of October that they would not receive their paychecks on October 31, and roughly 42 million Americans who rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
