Senate unanimously passes resolution to withhold senators' pay during government shutdowns

The Senate's unanimous vote came after two record-breaking government shutdowns in less than a year. A 43-day closure of the full federal government last fall — the longest such lapse in history — was followed months later by a 76-day partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, the longest agency-level funding lapse on record, according to the Associated Press. Tens of thousands of federal workers went without pay during both closures.

Kennedy, speaking on the Senate floor, said: "Last October, we shut down the government for 43 days. FBI agents, national park rangers, CDC scientists, our staff here in Congress — nobody was getting paid. And then, three months later, we shut down the Department of Homeland Security for 76 days. We ought to hide our heads in a bag. It's got to stop." He described the resolution as being about "shared sacrifice" and "putting our money where our mouth is."

Under the resolution, senators' pay would be withheld by the secretary of the Senate whenever a shutdown affects one or more agencies, then released once funding is restored. The delay in the resolution's effective date — tied to the November election — is designed to comply with the 27th Amendment's prohibition on changes in lawmakers' pay before the next election, the Washington Examiner reported. Senators earn an annual salary of $174,000, while party leaders can earn over $193,000, according to Fox News.