Senate

Dem senator: Block lawmaker pay during shutdowns

by Jordain Carney - 09/24/15 5:34 PM ET

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) introduced legislation on Thursday that would withhold pay for lawmakers during future government shutdowns.

“If members of Congress refuse to do their jobs, they shouldn’t get paid — it’s as simple as that,” she said in a statement.

{mosads}Her legislation, co-sponsored by Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va) and Barbara Boxer (Calif.), comes ahead of an end-of-the-month deadline to pass a government spending bill.

But even if the legislation were taken up and passed before the Oct. 1 deadline — a herculean feat in the Senate — it wouldn’t impact lawmakers’ salaries if the government were to shut down next week.

According to Heitkamp’s office, the legislation wouldn’t take effect until the start of the 115th Congress, which begins in 2017. The 27th Amendment bans changes to lawmakers’ salaries during their current term.

Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) has introduced a similar bill in the House.

The legislation comes after Democrats blocked a short-term spending bill on Thursday that would have redirected federal funding for Planned Parenthood to other community health centers.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has filed a short-term spending bill that would fund the organization, though he’s yet to formally tee up a vote.

Tags Barbara Boxer Heidi Heitkamp Joe Manchin Mitch McConnell