Sen. John Kennedy Introduces Bills to Suspend Congressional Pay During Shutdown

FIRST ON FOX: A Republican senator wants to stop members of Congress from receiving paychecks while federal workers are no longer getting paid during the current government shutdown.

As the shutdown enters its 35th day, federal employees, air traffic controllers and other employees have either missed pay or received only partial pay. However, the Constitution requires members of Congress to receive a salary, even if the government is closed.

Some lawmakers have said they will forgo their salaries, while others have introduced legislation to prevent their colleagues from being paid.

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Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., has two bills that would see lawmakers go unpaid during the shutdown. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., has jumped into that arena and is proposing two bills that would prevent lawmakers from being paid while the shutdown continues and address the constitutional issue.

“I don’t view missing paychecks or empty plates as leverage or bargaining chips,” Kennedy said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “My bills ensure that Congress feels the same pain as the people we don’t pay – our troops, our air traffic controllers and our federal employees. If we can’t do our jobs and fund the government, we don’t deserve a paycheck – plain and simple.”

One of the bills, the “No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act,” would see lawmakers go without pay for each day they are shut down. Members of Congress earn an average of $174,000 per year. This number can fluctuate depending on whether or not the legislator is in a leadership position.

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A 1787 copy of the U.S. Constitution sold for $9 million is on display at Brunk Auctions in Asheville, North Carolina, on October 17, 2024. (Jeffrey Collins/AP Photo)

Kennedy’s desire to ensure that lawmakers were not paid, however, clashed with the Constitution.

Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution requires that “Senators and Representatives shall receive compensation for their services, which shall be determined by law and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.”

Then there’s the 27th Amendment, ratified in 1992, which prevents Congress from passing legislation affecting his pay during the current legislature.

That’s where his other bill, “Withholding Members’ Payments During Shutdowns Act,” comes in. This legislation would circumvent the 27th Amendment by not cutting lawmakers’ salaries, but instead withholding them until after the November 2026 election.

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Senate minority Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., refused to depart from Democrats’ stance on the ongoing shutdown. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

This bill is also being passed in the House by Rep. Bryan Steil, Republican of Wisconsin, who said in a statement to Fox News Digital: “If military personnel, men and women of federal law enforcement, and other essential employees are working without pay during the Schumer shutdown, members of Congress should not be paid either.

Kennedy’s efforts are not the only legislative attempt to prevent lawmakers from receiving their salaries during the shutdown.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, Republican of Ohio, has introduced a bill that would impose a tax, similar to Kennedy’s bill, that would increase each day the Senate is in session.

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Then there’s a constitutional amendment proposed last week by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., that would require lawmakers to forgo their paychecks. This money would then be sent to the U.S. Treasury Department to help pay down the national debt.

Passage of a constitutional amendment requires two-thirds of the House and Senate to advance the proposal, then ratification by three-quarters of the states.