Thursday, April 7, 2011

Should Members of Congress Be Paid During a Shutdown?


I say no. Why should members of Congress continue to recieve their $174,000-a-year paycheck while normal federal workers risk going unpaid, especially since the blame for the shutdown would rest solely with the Senators and Representatives (from either party)? Unsurprisingly, the Republicans in the House blocked this bill. But perhaps a postponed paycheck would give them a little incentive to compromise on the budget or move towards a solution more quickly.

6 comments:

TJE said...

Dock'em.

Ross Perot said...

Should Congressmen be paid for preventing hundreds of thousands of people from being paid?

That's a tough one.

Julia G said...

You would think not.
But apparently the House's version of a bill to stop Congressional pay during a shutdown is IN their budget bill. So if their budget doesn't pass (which it won't) neither will the provision docking their pay. Sneaky.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/will-members-of-congress-get-paid-in-a-shutdown/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Ross Perot said...

Your greatest deliberative body in the world, ladies and gentlemen.

TJE said...

Let's also dock Chuck Schumer $100 every time he uses the word "extreme."

Ross Perot said...

And Michelle Bachman $100 every time she opens her mouth.