US Senate unanimously approves salary freeze for lawmakers during federal shutdowns

The US Senate on Thursday (May 14) unanimously approved a resolution to withhold senators’ salaries during government shutdowns, marking a rare bipartisan effort to impose financial consequences on lawmakers when Congress fails to pass funding bills.

The measure comes after a series of prolonged federal shutdowns over the past year disrupted government operations and left thousands of federal employees without paychecks.

Under the resolution, senators’ salaries would be withheld by the secretary of the Senate whenever a shutdown affects one or more federal agencies. The withheld pay would only be released after government funding is restored.

The new policy is scheduled to take effect the day after the November 3 general election.

‘Putting our money where our mouth is’

The resolution was introduced by John Kennedy, who argued that lawmakers should share the burden created by political deadlocks in Washington.

“Shutting down government should not be our default solution to our refusal to work out our issues and our differences,” Kennedy said during a Senate floor speech on Wednesday.

“This is about putting our money where our mouth is,” the Republican senator added.

Kennedy later told reporters the proposal was intended to ensure “shared sacrifice” during shutdowns, though he acknowledged the measure did not go as far as he would personally prefer.

Shutdowns becoming longer and more frequent

The move follows two major government shutdowns in the past year that caused severe financial strain for federal employees, especially workers at the United States Department of Homeland Security.

The department only reopened last month after a 76-day partial shutdown — the longest agency funding lapse in US history.

That closure came just months after a separate 43-day shutdown of the entire federal government, which also set a record at the time.

Lawmakers from both parties have increasingly faced criticism for allowing shutdown standoffs to drag on while members of Congress continued receiving salaries.

Constitution protects Congressional pay

Under the US Constitution, members of Congress must continue to receive compensation even during shutdowns, unlike many federal workers who can be furloughed or temporarily unpaid.

During the earlier full government shutdown tied to disputes over healthcare subsidies, senator Lindsey Graham proposed a constitutional amendment that would require lawmakers to permanently forfeit pay during shutdown periods.

“If members of Congress had to forfeit their pay during government shutdowns, there would be fewer shutdowns and they would end quicker,” Graham said at the time.

However, Graham acknowledged that changing the Constitution would be a difficult process because amendments require ratification by three-fourths of US states.

By contrast, Kennedy’s resolution avoids constitutional complications by delaying lawmakers’ pay instead of eliminating it entirely.

Senate-House tensions surface

The resolution applies only to senators and does not extend to members of the US House of Representatives.

Asked why the House was excluded, Kennedy suggested tensions between the two chambers played a role.

“The House’s business is the House’s business,” he said.

Kennedy also joked about the increasingly strained relationship between lawmakers in both chambers.

“There’s a very strong undercurrent of animosity among some of my friends in the House,” he remarked.

“It’s quickly becoming like two kids fighting in the back of a minivan,” Kennedy added.

(With AP inputs)