WASHINGTON (WSVN) — A Congressman from Maine has introduced a bill that would withhold pay from the president, vice president and members of Congress during a government shutdown.
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden introduced the Solidarity in Salary Act of 2019 on the House floor, Tuesday, in an effort to prevent and limit the duration of future government shutdowns.
The pay would be placed in escrow for each day of the shutdown and would be released when the government is reopened.
“Federal workers don’t get paid during a government shutdown. Neither should politicians,” said Golden. “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.”
The bill has bipartisan backing from Democratic Rep. Max Rose and Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw.
Roughly 800,000 federal workers were either furloughed or forced to work without pay during the recent 35-day shutdown.
To read the bill’s full text, click here.