GOP Senator Moves To Withhold Congressional Pay, Believes Shutdown Will Go ‘A While Longer’ | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Amber Jo Cooper.

    WASHINGTON     Senator John Kennedy says he's introducing two bills that would withhold paychecks from members of Congress for the duration of the government shutdown.

    On the Senate floor Wednesday, the Louisiana Republican said he has "heard a lot of rumors" about being close to an agreement but doesn't believe they are close.

    The Senator said he was hopeful they are, but said he thinks "we're going to be in shut down a while longer." The shutdown hits Day 37 on Thursday.

    In the meantime, he filed two bills: the "No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act" and the "Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act."

    The first bill would cut pay for members of Congress during a government shutdown - with no back pay.

    The second bill would withhold their salaries during the shutdown by placing the funds in escrow, allowing full payment to be released once the government reopens, he explained.

    "Some may say, 'well, this violates the 27th Amendment.' I don't think it does. That's why I'm offering two different flavors of bills," he explained.

    In 2013, President Barack Obama supported similar legislation during a previous shutdown that said "if you don't open up government by this certain date then you're going to lose your paychecks," according to Kennedy.

    "And guess what - members of Congress had an epiphany and they found religion...and they opened up government," Kennedy said.

    Kennedy previously filed other bills to require the federal government to pay both federal employees and military personnel during the shutdown. All were rejected.

    On the floor, he said federal workers have "had to borrow $365 million so far during this 36-day shutdown in order just to pay their rent."

    "If we can't do our jobs and fund the government, we don't deserve a paycheck - plain and simple," Kennedy said in a statement.

    He said he, unlike his Democratic colleagues, doesn't see missing paychecks or empty dinner plates "as leverage."


    "That's why I've been working to make sure that only members of Congress feel the pain of a shutdown," Kennedy said.

    Kennedy was referring to a previous FOX News report where House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) admitted suffering families are "leverage" in the shutdown battle.

    "I mean, shutdowns are terrible and, of course, there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage times we have," Clark said at the time.

poll#201

Considering what real news is available for all to witness, and in great specificity, should one pursue what is true outside of the channeled realm of the corrupt corporate /legacy media, and: Is Institutionalized Corruption real, and is it a hindrance to sustaining our Constitutional Republic now, and for future generations of American citizens?

  Yes

  No

  Not sure

507 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?

poll#218

Now that President Trump is picking his cabinet and immediate staff to insulate him from the poor judgement of the Bureaucratic Class, while moving quickly to transition this Constitutional Republic unto a wise and sustainable direction: What is your immediate impression as to how our nation will prosper?

  We are headed toward a Golden Age in America's self-governed society.

  This will all wind up in a clustered mess since Trump is a Fascist, and thought to be the second coming of Adolf Hitler by our best journalists.

  This is a time where critical days lay ahead, where only wise and responsible decisions must be made to sustain US.

  I generally do not pay attention, but expect only the best to occur ... and that is what I always expect.

160 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?

    Kennedy said his bills "ensure Congress feels the same pain as the folks we're failing to pay - our troops, air traffic controllers, and federal workers."

    We will continue to monitor Kennedy's bills if they advance.