Members of Congress continue to get paid during government shutdown

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Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey discusses the impacts of the government shutdown.

WASHINGTON - Despite failing to reach an agreement with President Donald Trump to keep government programs running by Wednesday’s deadline, members of Congress will continue to receive pay during the shutdown.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, congressional pay is mandated by the Constitution and classified as mandatory spending. "Thus, Members of Congress would continue to be paid during a lapse in discretionary appropriations," the agency said in a letter Tuesday.

A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass all 12 appropriations bills or a continuing resolution, which temporarily maintains funding while lawmakers finalize spending legislation.

With the funding lapse, agencies must furlough "non-excepted" employees. Excepted employees, those who protect life and property, remain on the job but are not paid until the shutdown ends.

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Washington is bracing for what could be a prolonged federal shutdown after lawmakers deadlocked and missed the deadline for funding the government.

In 2019, Congress passed a law requiring that furloughed employees receive retroactive pay once operations resume. While they’ll eventually be paid, both furloughed workers and those still working may miss one or more paychecks, depending on the shutdown’s duration. This includes FBI investigators, CIA officers, air traffic controllers, airport checkpoint agents, members of the armed forces and others.

Some members of Congress have requested that their own pay be withheld until the government reopens.

"It’s wrong that the President and Members of Congress get paid during a government shutdown when our military and public servants don’t," said Senator Andy Kim, D-N.J. "I will be refusing my own pay if we end up in a shutdown. Government leaders shouldn’t be playing with other people’s chips." 

Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., also requested that her pay be withheld. "I respectfully request that you withhold my net pay until an appropriations agreement is reached and has taken effect," she wrote. "If our military isn't being paid, neither should Members of Congress."