Bipartisan bill would withhold pay for president, VP, Congress during shutdowns

Three members of the House of Representatives introduced a bill Tuesday that would withhold pay from the president, vice president and members of Congress during a government shutdown, WTTG reported.

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The bipartisan bill, called the Solidarity in Salary Act of 2019, was introduced by Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and joined by Rep. Dan Crenshaw, D-Texas, and Rep. Max Rose, R-N.Y, the television station reported.

The legislation comes days after the 35-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, denied pay to 800,000 federal workers, WJLA reported. On Friday, President Donald Trump agreed to reopen government for three weeks so negotiators can seek a border security deal, the television station reported.

In a statement, Golden said the Solidarity in Salary Act would "prevent and limit the duration of future shutdowns and ensure that lawmakers feel the harm they cause federal employees when they fail to fund the government."

“Federal workers don’t get paid during a government shutdown. Neither should politicians,” Golden said. “This legislation will help prevent the American people from being political pawns for party leaders and help return sanity to the task of funding the government."

According to the bill, daily pay for the president, vice president and congressmen would be placed in escrow, The Hill reported. That money would be released after the government reopens.

Crenshaw said "federal employees should never have to carry the burden caused by a dysfunctional government," according to The Hill.

“We should have to feel the very real effects of a shutdown, just as our fellow federal employees are forced to do," Crenshaw said.

“Only in a town as broken as Washington do you still get paid when you don’t do your job,” Rose said. “That’s wrong, and it’s past time to make it right.”

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