Why It Matters
American taxpayers have long watched Congress collect full paychecks while failing to fund the federal government on time — a pattern that repeated itself three times in the current fiscal year alone. A new Senate resolution takes direct aim at that dynamic, giving lawmakers a personal financial stake in avoiding future shutdowns.
What Happened
The U.S. Senate approved a resolution by voice vote that would prevent senators from accessing their salaries during any government shutdown beginning after this November’s midterm elections. Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy sponsored the measure, which passed the chamber without opposition.
Under the resolution, the secretary of the Senate would be required to collect but hold lawmakers’ paychecks whenever Congress fails to fund any federal agency on time. Senators would ultimately receive the withheld pay once the shutdown ends — mirroring the back-pay arrangement that applies to federal workers who are furloughed or forced to work without compensation during funding lapses.
Kennedy acknowledged making concessions to secure enough support for adoption. Two key accommodations: the resolution applies only to the Senate, not the House — since each chamber governs its own rules — and it does not take effect until after the midterm elections to comply with the 27th Amendment, which restricts changes to congressional compensation from taking effect during the same Congress in which they are enacted.
“Shutting down government should not be our default solution to our refusal to work out our issues and our differences,” Kennedy said on the Senate floor Wednesday, adding simply: “It’s got to stop.”
By the Numbers
- 3 — government shutdowns that occurred during the current fiscal year
- $174,000 — annual salary for rank-and-file members of Congress, with leadership earning more
- 30 years — roughly how long it has been since Congress completed all 12 annual appropriations bills before the October 1 fiscal year deadline
- $72 billion — the amount Republicans are pursuing through budget reconciliation to fund three years of immigration enforcement activities
- April 30 — the date the Senate passed the final fiscal year spending bill, ending the third shutdown
Zoom Out
The three shutdowns this fiscal year each carried distinct political causes. The first, beginning last October and running through mid-November, stemmed from Democratic efforts to extend health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. A second, shorter lapse ran from late January into early February before lawmakers cleared six spending bills. A third and longer shutdown — affecting Homeland Security and related agencies — began in mid-February and stretched through April, fueled by Democratic demands for limits on immigration enforcement following the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis by federal officers.
The final spending bill passed without any new funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Border Patrol. Senate Republicans have also been scrutinizing other major federal spending requests, reflecting broader fiscal tensions heading into an election year.
Congress has routinely relied on stopgap spending measures — known as continuing resolutions — to keep the government funded while negotiations drag on, typically delivering final appropriations packages in December. That cycle shows little sign of breaking, with lawmakers already working on the next round of fiscal year funding bills and the prospect of another shutdown looming weeks before November’s midterms.
Unlike rank-and-file federal employees, who face furloughs or mandatory unpaid work during shutdowns, members of Congress and the president have historically continued receiving pay without interruption — though some individual members have voluntarily asked their respective chamber offices to withhold their checks. Congressional pay and the use of taxpayer funds by members have drawn scrutiny on multiple fronts in recent years.
What’s Next
Because the resolution covers only the Senate, House members are not affected unless that chamber takes up its own similar measure. The pay-withholding provision will not activate until shutdowns occurring after the November midterm elections, leaving the current fiscal cycle’s political dynamics unchanged. With the next fiscal year’s appropriations process already underway and a full set of spending bills considered unlikely to pass by October 1, the real test of Kennedy’s resolution could come sooner than many lawmakers might prefer.
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