Daines Introduces Bill Withholding Pay From Congressmen During Government Shutdowns, Others Join

Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines introduced a bill on the Senate floor Thursday that would withhold the pay of members of Congress during future government shutdowns.

Daines’s introduction of the bill, sponsored by Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn, comes hours after Daines announced he sent a letter requesting the secretary of the U.S. Senate withhold his pay during the ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government.

“Members of Congress are sent to Washington, D.C., to represent the great people of their state and keep the federal government open, working and funded. So it’s simple. If they can’t do that, they shouldn’t get paid. No work, no pay,” Daines told The Daily Caller News Foundation after the bill was introduced.

The “No Work, No Pay Act,” introduced by Daines, would make it so that members of Congress would not be paid if they cannot keep the government funded.

His move to not accept pay was followed by many of his colleagues, such as Cornyn, who said he was excited to join Daines in co-sponsoring the bill. He echoed Daines’s message that members of Congress should not be paid while government agencies are shut down.

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