On the 37th day of the ongoing government shutdown, Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) attempted to pass three bills by unanimous consent to address the financial pain inflicted on federal workers and to pressure Congress to end the impasse.
All three measures were blocked in the paralyzed Senate.
Senator Kennedy’s frustration was palpable as he addressed the chamber, pointing out the gross disparity between the unpaid federal workforce and the salaried members of Congress.
“Now, as everyone knows, folks aren’t being paid while we’re in a shutdown,” Kennedy stated. “Our air traffic controllers are not being paid. In fact, starting tomorrow, the airlines are going to be canceling flights. Our staff are not being paid. Federal employees are not being paid. . . . Our military is only being partially paid. . . . The only people that I can ascertain who are being paid are members of Congress.”
Kennedy, who has personally foregone his salary during the shutdown, argued it was time for Congress to show solidarity and accountability. “I’m just saying that it’s time that Congress set an example,” he said.
The “Goose and Gander” Bills
The Louisiana Senator introduced two bills aimed directly at congressional pay, framed by the principle that “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”
- The “No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act”: This bill was the most aggressive, proposing that members of Congress would not be paid during the shutdown and would forfeit their back pay even after the government reopened.
- The “Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act”: This second measure was a compromise, suggesting that congressional salaries be withheld during the shutdown but be paid in arrears once the government resumed normal operations.
Kennedy first asked for unanimous consent to pass his “No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act.”
Paul Objects, Pushing for Full Worker Pay
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) immediately objected, arguing that the legislative priority should be on ensuring all workers are paid, not just cutting congressional salaries.
After blocking the first bill, Senator Paul also objected to the second measure, the “Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act,” maintaining his stance that Congress should instead focus on legislating full pay for the workforce.
Kennedy, acknowledging the spirit of Paul’s position, then attempted a third path: bringing up Senator Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) “Shutdown Fairness Act,” which aims to pay all federal employees who are working and ensure furloughed employees receive their back pay.
Kennedy explained his reasoning for attempting to pass the Johnson bill, despite his initial preference for penalizing Congress: “I tried to pass my bill, preventing members of Congress from being paid. You can pretty it up all you want to, but Rand objected. . . . Now, having said that, I said I agreed with what Sen. Paul said. . . . If you’re deemed an essential employee right now, you’re working, but you’re not being paid, Sen. Johnson’s bill says we’re going to pay you. I voted for that. It also says if you’re furloughed, if you need to be deemed nonessential, you’re not working, but you will get paid once we come out of this shutdown. Does that make sense? That’s what Sen. Ron Johnson has proposed,” Kennedy detailed.
Murray Blocks Worker Pay, Citing Executive Power
Kennedy’s third request—to pass a bill that would pay all federal workers—was then blocked by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA). Murray’s objection centered on a fear that the bill could give the current administration too much power to selectively choose which workers get paid, rather than guaranteeing compensation for all.
The final objection killed the effort to ensure federal employees would be paid during the shutdown, prompting a frustrated final speech from the Louisiana Republican.
“I don’t know what else to do,” Kennedy lamented. “I voted 14 times to open up the government. I can’t change the election. President Trump was duly elected president of the United States. . . . Some of my colleagues are upset about that. In fact, they hate the president so much that they’ve shut down the government.”
Kennedy concluded by directly confronting the partisan nature of the shutdown: “They hate him so much that if President Trump came out in favor of breathing to live, they would hold their breath. It’s not rational, and I don’t know what else to do. All I can tell my Democratic friends is: Look, reasonable people disagree, and I get it, but you’re just being too emotional. You need to go drink a big old cold tall glass of ‘get over it’ and realize that President Trump is the president of the United States. Don’t shut the government down because of it.”
READ: Pay Freeze: Louisiana Senator John Kennedy Intros Bills To Force Lawmakers To Feel Shutdown Pain
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