Rick Nolan, Dem Rep, Introduces Bill Blocking Congressional Pay During Government Shutdown

Dem Rep Introduces Bill To Stop Congress From Getting Paid During Shutdown

Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) introduced a bill Tuesday that would block members of Congress from being paid during a government shutdown.

The "No Government – No Pay Act" would stop members from being paid their salaries for as long as a shutdown continues.

"The inability of this Congress to collaborate, compromise, and get things done has led me to introduce legislation to prohibit Members from being paid when failure to do their job results in a government shutdown," Nolan said in a Tuesday statement. "It’s time for Congress to start living in the real world – where you either do your job, or you don’t get paid."

However, the bill may violate the 27th Amendment, which states no law changing congressional compensation may take effect until an election in the House of Representatives.

The government shut down Tuesday morning as congressional lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on a short-term resolution to continue funding the government. The shutdown is the first since 1996.

While more than 800,000 federal workers are furloughed without pay, rank-and-file members of Congress continue to earn their $174,000 a year salary. And as The Huffington Post's Sabrina Siddiqui and Dave Jamieson reported Tuesday, there's no guarantee that furloughed workers will receive back pay — that decision lies with members of Congress, who will be paid regardless.

Several lawmakers have said they would either refuse or donate their pay throughout the shutdown.

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Barack Obama

2013 Government Shutdown

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