The United States Senate unanimously approved a resolution Thursday agreeing to withhold their own pay during future government shutdowns.
Under the new policy, whenever one or more government agencies are affected by a shutdown, pay would be withheld for members of the Senate until the government reopens.
This change will take effect the day after the November 3, 2026 general election and will not impact members of the House of Representatives.
“Shutting down government should not be our default solution to our refusal to work out our issues and our differences,” said bill sponsor Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) in a floor speech Wednesday. “This is about putting our money where our mouth is.”
This comes in the wake of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which stemmed from a standoff between the House and Senate over spending and health-care provisions.
[RELATED: Trump Signs Bill Ending Record-Long Government Shutdown After Weeks of Washington Gridlock]
This record-breaking shutdown strained federal agencies, interrupted the dispersal of government benefits, disrupted travel due to staffing shortages, and halted pay for thousands of government employees.
President Donald Trump (R) signed a bill into law in late November bringing this shutdown to an end, but several months later, portions of the government were once again brought to a halt over disagreements concerning funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and, more specifically, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
This second partial shutdown came to an end at the start of this month when the President signed a measure providing funding for most of the department, although ICE has continued to be excluded by lawmakers.
“This is a matter of fairness,” Sen. Susan Collins (R) said of the new bipartisan policy in a statement. “It is not right for senators to receive their paychecks while federal employees are forced to go without pay as a result of Congress’s dysfunction.”
“While I hope we do not see another shutdown anytime soon, this has been a longstanding policy of mine and I am glad to see it adopted,” Sen. Collins said.
Click Here to Read Sen. Collins’ Full Statement
As of this article’s publication, Sen. Angus King (I) has not yet released a statement concerning the chamber’s new policy.
Like that’s gonna matter when you are a multi millionaire
So brave of them, being elected to congress is better than winning the lottery. Go in broke come out in a few years w a multimillionaire with a pension to boot, vote themselves a taxpayer funded raise,insider trading, A tough life
WHO held the gun to Angus Kings head ?
That’s so nice of the Senators. How about all the perks they receive. That are worth much more than the salary. Are they stopped too?
They don’t forfeit their pay – it goes into an escrow account and they can later access the money.
Never forget that all members of Congress, and all Congressional staff, were (1) exempt from the COVID vaccine; and (2) are exempt from the ACA requirement.
Since it is the staffers that actually do the work, No pay for them either! OH, no back pay when they get around to doing their job.
The civil servant labor organizers should pay their foot fed employees each time the Democrats shut the government down