QUESTION:
Is Congress paid during a government shutdown?
ANSWER:
Yes, it's guaranteed under the Constitution.
SOURCES:
Congressional Research Service- Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Process, and Effects
PROCESS:
Viewer Mary Sutton emailed the Verify team for some answers: "Is Congress getting paid, if so, why? Are they not federal employees?"
Turns out they are.
The U.S. Treasury is responsible for paying congressional salaries per Article 1 Section 6 of the U.S. Constitution:
"The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States."
This means Congress must be paid for their office.
Congress' salaries were already approved for FY2019, under (H.R.5895) signed on September 21, 2018, before the government shutdown.
Unlike most federal workers whose pay is apportioned annually, congressional salaries are permanently guaranteed under the constitution.
"Due to their constitutional responsibilities and a permanent appropriation for congressional pay, Members of Congress are not subject to furlough," according to a Congressional Research Service report
The 27th amendment of the Constitution further restricts congressional pay from increasing or decreasing until the start of a new term. It's intended to prevent Congress from doling themselves a huge raise.
Congress could vote to change how they receive their funding, but because of the 27th amendment, it wouldn't take effect until 2020 at the earliest.
So the Treasury has to pay them, but that doesn't mean lawmakers have to accept the money.
In a time where more than 420,000 federal employees are working without pay, many lawmakers have tweeted that they are refusing or donating their salary over the shutdown.
Nearly 250 lawmakers refused pay or donated it during the 2013 shutdown, according to the Washington Post.
Last January, Democrats in the senate introduced the, "No Government No Pay Act of 2018," which would prevent lawmakers from getting paid in the event of a shutdown.
