Lawmakers propose arrests and pay cuts for Congress if there's a government shutdown


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
It's Thursday in America, which means a government shutdown spurred by congressional failure to pass a federal budget may be soon upon us. But some lawmakers are keen to avert yet another budget crisis, and they're getting creative with ways to achieve that goal.
Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet (D) and Cory Gardner (R) have filed a bill that would require senators to stay in Washington and close to the Senate floor during budget deliberations. Any senators caught playing hooky would be subject to arrest by the Senate sergeant at arms. "This forces people to be here, on the Senate floor, working it out and finding solutions," Gardner explains.
Meanwhile, Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) has introduced legislation that would slash congressional salaries by the amount of a single day's pay for every day the shutdown is in effect. The longest government shutdown lasted 21 days in the 1990s, and at the current base salary rate of $174,000, that would be about a $10,000 pay cut. "In every other profession, if you don't do your job, you don't get paid," Schrader told McClatchy. "Why on Earth should we be any different?"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Former Philadelphia police officer charged with murder for Eddie Irizarry shooting
Speed Read
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
How Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio's 22-year sentence compares to other Jan. 6 punishments
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Kansas police raid small-town local newspaper, setting off a press freedoms clash
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Ohio voters defeat GOP measure to raise referendum threshold
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Ohio is voting on whether to raise the bar on referendums — and a popular abortion amendment
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Oregon lifts ban on drivers pumping their own gas
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Former Manson follower Leslie Van Houten out of prison after 50 years
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Florida construction and agricultural workforces diminished after new immigration law takes effect
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published