Members of Congress get paid during a shutdown. Some want to change that

Nina Heller, CQ-Roll Call on Oct 1, 2025

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WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are pushing a flurry of bills that would change how pay and federal benefits are handled during a shutdown, including some aimed at their own House.

Most of these are messaging bills, designed to highlight the pain of federal workers while Republicans and Democrats spar over who’s to blame for the current government funding lapse, which began Wednesday. But it’s worth noting that the last shutdown in 2019 led to a concrete change, with Congress passing a law to guarantee backpay for many furloughed workers.

Unlike most federal employees, members of Congress still collect a paycheck while the government is shuttered, thanks to constitutional provisions. That’s not a good look, many acknowledge.

Rep. Mike Kennedy, R-Utah, for example, introduced a bill Tuesday that would prohibit paying lawmakers during a shutdown. Others have floated similar proposals over the years, including one from Reps. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., that would dock their pay during a funding lapse or debt default.

“While our neighbors face missed paychecks or furlough, Members of Congress continue to draw full salaries,” Vindman said in a statement Monday. “That is plain wrong and why I am doing my part by declining my pay and leading a bill to hold Members of Congress to the same standards as everyone else.”

Vindman and Fitzpatrick are among a growing list who have asked the Chief Administrative Officer to defer or withhold their pay during the shutdown. Asked by reporters on Wednesday if he is advising his caucus to make that move, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said it’s a question for each member to decide. Asked what he himself would do, Jeffries said he expects the shutdown “will be resolved well in advance of our next paycheck.”

On the Senate side, Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., also asked for his pay to be withheld, calling it “a small gesture.” And others have announced they will donate what they make during the shutdown. Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., for one, said she would donate to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, while Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said his pay would be going to the Upstate Warrior Solution.

“I will not take a paycheck while Senator Schumer denies one to our military servicemembers, law enforcement and government employees,” Moody said in a statement.

The bills aimed at blocking shutdown pay for lawmakers are themselves largely symbolic, since they raise questions of constitutionality.

Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution provides that “Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services,” while the 27th Amendment 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.”

In the eyes of Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a better route would be a constitutional amendment, an effort he reintroduced this week.

“We should not expect taxpayers to continue paying us for inaction,” Norman said in a statement.

Other pay proposals

Lawmakers opting to donate or withhold their pay isn’t new. The last shutdown, which stretched from late 2018 into early 2019, saw a similar trend.

But that time period also saw a landmark change. Furloughed federal employees were previously not guaranteed back pay in the event of a shutdown, but Congress passed a law in 2019 that now does so. Sponsored by former Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., the legislation earned broad bipartisan support.

It’s not clear if the current shutdown will lead to any further changes, but members have proposed a wide range of them.

Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., introduced a bill on Sept. 16 that would require members of the military to continue receiving pay and benefits during a shutdown. Kiggans introduced the bill last Congress as well.

A group of Maryland Democrats introduced a bill that would allow federal employees required to work during the shutdown to receive unemployment benefits — something they are currently barred from doing.

And Reps. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., and Joe Neguse, D-Colo., offered a proposal that would prohibit any reductions in force, or RIFs, to federal firefighters and would require federal wildland firefighters and firefighters employed on military installations and federal properties to continue to receive pay during a shutdown.