Instead of Docking Pay to Prevent Shutdowns, Upgrade Congress

Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration holds a markup to consider S.Res. 493, a resolution reducing the annual rate of pay of senators if a government shutdown occurs during a year. 

Federal government shutdowns should not exist. Congress did not make them possible. The Carter Administration unilaterally reinterpreted a 19th Century statute to create shutdowns. 

Congress can reverse that executive branch power grab with legislation like the Preventing Government Shutdowns Act. If a fiscal year begins without new appropriations, PGSA would keep Congress and the White House Office of Budget and Management in the nation’s capital until new appropriations are complete. In the meantime, programs would continue at prior levels to avoid disruptions in federal services. This practice would strengthen Congress’ legislative powers and support bottom-up appropriating. 

Annual appropriations are important, but they cover only 26 percent of federal spending. They only substantially involve a single committee in each house, so many members feel limited stakes in the bills. 

To budget well, Congress must manage the entire budget: all spending and all revenue including tax expenditures, built by committees managing their portfolios within overall allocations like the Appropriations Committee does. The path in the bipartisan Comprehensive Congressional Budget Act would help Congress transition from an appropriations-only process to a holistic, complete budget. Members of all committees could build coalitions to expand the value that Americans get from the federal government.  

Temporarily withholding member pay is not the substantive budget modernization that Congress needs. The 27th Amendment prohibits any law that would vary – implicitly, the amount, composition, or timing – the compensation of members of Congress without an intervening election. This prohibition clearly extends to a simple resolution, which cannot supersede a statute because it has nothing to do with the Senate’s rules of proceedings. Moreover, variation in senators’ personal wealth would make this penalty disparate in application. 

Senators and representatives deserve a better approach to regular order that lets their unique gifts and talents shine. That’s the path to a high-functioning federal legislature that serves the people well and makes congressional service more fulfilling. 

Kurt Couchman is a Senior Fellow in fiscal policy for Americans for Prosperity.