Do you think the president cares if he is paid every two week? Or for that matter, the congressional millionaires?
One thing to remember is that there is no guarantee that fed employees will be paid eventually. It has happened in the past, but it takes an act of Congress. It is not automatic.
SOME fed employees will be paid — those who are covered in budgets that were passed. Those who are covered in budgets that haven’t been passed, who knows?
And this
Not every member of Congress is wealthy. As a matter of fact, many arrive on Capital Hill with not much in the way of net worth. Many of the incoming freshman delegation are from relatively modest means. Some of them have families to support, so the lack of a paycheck will honestly affect their financial circumstances. Of course, the ones who’ve become so compromised as to ride in the pockets of special interests can hold out a bit longer, but even they cash their paychecks. I agree that making them stay on the hill until they honestly hash out their differences and act on behalf of the American people would also go a long way toward ending this self-serving trend of holding Government hostage every few months to a year.
@poetsheart It is the house members who are not likely to be millionaires. I still like the idea of cutting their pay off without backpay.
The bottom line, I think, is the need to hold our lawmakers accountable, and aid them in acquiring the mindset that they work for us, and not the other way around. Yes, dock their pay, and make them stay! Hey, that sounds like a good bumper sticker. :))
In all seriousness, I do not want to set up government so that only rich people can run for office or afford to serve. If you fine those who don’t stay to vote or hold up their checks, only the rich can afford to be politicians. Most who aren’t rich when they start are rich when they leave.
I don’t want a system where a senator from Utah who wants to pass the budget has no power to do so but is financially punished because a richer senator from NYC doesn’t really care that his paycheck will be withheld. What if both the senate and house pass the budget but the president refuses to sign it and there aren’t enough votes to override the veto? Whose pay gets withheld, everyone’s or just the president’s (and does the president care?)? Who is punished because they are forced to stay in DC for the holiday, the senator from Maryland who voted against the budget but can drive home or the one from Alaska who voted for the bill but who needs 2+ days to get home?
It’s the people of that state or district who get to decide how to ‘punish’ the representative/senator by voting them in or out. Most of these people do not care about an actual paycheck and you’d be punishing those who do need the paycheck no matter how reasonable they were when voting. The lowly senator from NM can’t decide to stay in Washington and keep working on the budget if the senate is adjourned by leadership.
Unfortunately, through gerrymandering, Representatives (or their parties) often choose their voters, rather than the other way around.
NASA is affected. Contractors funded until late Jan or early Feb. Our facility open for contractor and essential govt employees to keep things going on ISS. May have no facility support,cafeteria etc. More info to come.
Loads of fun for mortgage lenders - issues with verifying SSnumbers, obtaining IRS tax transcripts, new flood insurance policies, approvals on government loans, etc.
The congressional staffers will really suffer if they don’t get paid. These (usually young) staffers really earn peanuts. And they don’t ever get a break on rent or the DC area cost of living.
Will they have to travel back to DC on their own dimes if congress meets on the 27th? I sure hope not. Let these congress folks answer their own emails and phone calls.
People don’t realize how heavily impacted they might be due to a government shutdown until they run into administrative roadblocks of the sort you and others have described, rockvillemom. They think, “Well I’m not a government worker, so it doesn’t affect me.” Then they need a passport, or IRS paperwork, etc… In many cases, it’s more than a mere inconvience. We can’t continue this way. This should not be the new norm. :-<
While legally true, if we do a ‘Chances’ thread on cc, it would be 99.9999% that they will receive back pay – essentially extra vacation for so-called ‘non-essential’ personnel.
I saw this on the Alt National Park’s FB page and thought I’d share. I hadn’t thought or known about these issues:
National Alert:
Keeping the parks open during a shutdown is extremely dangerous. If someone falls, gets lost, or has any issue in a National Park or wildlife refuge, they’re on their own. The parks are also at risk when parks remain open with no federal oversight. No one to protect against damaging sensitive habitats, landscapes, or historic sites. Trash will be a serious problem that will damage our public lands! The Interior Department kept park gates open during a shutdown in January of this year, which led to a number of land misuses, including the illegal hunting of a pregnant elk in Utah’s Zion National Park and a snowmobiler coming too close to Yellowstone National Park’s Old Faithful geyser. We hope that everyone reading this post will help us protect our parks. Please help us ensure trash is collected, vandalism and illegal hunting are reported to local police, and that everyone stays safe! If you see something happening that shouldn’t be please take pictures and send them in. #ProtectOurParks
I guess it depends on your job is this is considered “essentially extra vacation”. H is working on time sensitive issues. He is on furlough. One or two people have been deemed essential to continue on this. When he is legally allowed to be contacted, I guarantee he will work some very long days to catch up. Not every one just picks up where they left off.
No doubt that there are thousands like him. OTOH, there are hundreds of thousands (of the 2 M federal workforce), who are not.
My relative is a fed employee whose portion of the budget has passed and believes he and everyone covered by that budget will continue working as usual.
I didn’t realize that essential government employees who were planning on vacations now can’t take them. They have to go work, and they lose those vacation days permanently.
They turned off the lights on the national Christmas tree due to the shutdown (rogue tree climber was the reason at first, but they stayed off after that duec o the shutdown), but a private foundation stepped in to cover the cost and they are back on.