GOP lawmaker introduces bill to strip Congress of pay during government shutdown

During government shutdowns, thousands of federal employees are sent home without pay, while members of Congress continue to collect their paychecks without interruption. Now, one lawmaker is pushing to remedy this imbalance.

Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican, introduced a constitutional amendment that would strip Congress of its pay during federal funding lapses.

“Members of Congress have a constitutional duty to fund the government’s essential functions,” Norman said in a news release. “If Congress fails to meet that obligation, we should not expect taxpayers to continue paying us for inaction. No one else in America would get paid for failing to fulfill their duties — Congress should face the same principle.”

His amendment would bar representatives and senators from receiving compensation when there is “a lapse in appropriations for any federal agency or department as a result of a failure to enact a regular appropriations bill or continuing resolution.” It would also prevent members of Congress from receiving back pay.

Constitutional amendments face a steep climb before becoming law. They must be proposed either by a supermajority in Congress or a national convention called by two-thirds of state legislatures, followed by ratification from three-fourths of state legislatures.

Norman put forward the bill after the government shut down for the first time in seven years, following Congress’s failure to pass a spending agreement by the Oct. 1 deadline.

The Republican lawmaker — who is running for South Carolina governor — pinned the blame for the shutdown on Democrats, who failed to pass a GOP-backed clean spending bill.

Many other Republicans in Congress have done the same.

“House Republicans passed the SAME clean, nonpartisan CR that Chuck Schumer himself voted for back in March — and called ‘the right thing to do,’” House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote on the social media platform X. “The ONLY thing that’s changed since then is pressure from his base to close down the government. That’s not leadership, it’s cowardice.”

Democrats, in turn, have faulted Republicans for the government shutdown, citing their opposition to a Democrat-backed spending measure that included an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies set to lapse this year.

“Republicans JUST VOTED DOWN our bill to avoid a government shutdown at midnight and address the healthcare needs of the American people,” Schumer, the Senate minority leader, wrote on X. “Republicans are plunging us into a government shutdown rather than fixing their healthcare crisis.”

This story was originally published October 1, 2025 at 12:09 PM with the headline "GOP lawmaker introduces bill to strip Congress of pay during government shutdown."