If government shuts down, Rep. John Curtis says Congress members shouldn’t get paid
Sep 22, 2023, 3:00 PM
If Congress shuts down, Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) said he wants to make it illegal for members of Congress to get paid.(Photo: Rick Bowmer / Associated Press)
(Photo: Rick Bowmer / Associated Press)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT — Congress is on the brink of another government shutdown if they don’t agree to a spending bill by September 30th. If that happens, Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) said he wants to make it illegal for members of Congress to get paid.
Just as he did in 2019, Curtis said he’s introducing a bill called No Work No Pay. The bill would make it so that if Congress shuts down, no members of Congress get paid.
“So I have a bill I’ve introduced in every shutdown, to eliminate that possibility so Congress doesn’t get paid if we go into a shutdown,” he said in an Instagram video. “It seems so obvious, I know, but we need legislation to make it happen.”
A member of his team said Curtis wasn’t available for additional comment when KSL NewsRadio reached out Friday.
Curtis said in the video his bill also wouldn’t allow for back pay.
“So that we [don’t] go through the shutdown and then go pay ourselves back,” he said.
It’s not clear if this has any broad support.
During the last shutdown in 2019, Curtis proposed the same bill. At the time, he said the following:
The American people expect Congress to do its most basic job: pass a budget and fund the government. If we can’t, then we shouldn’t get paid. Washington should take note of states like Utah that do it right. Not only does the Utah Legislature pass a baseline budget at the beginning of each legislative session to avoid any state government shutdown threats, but they also responsibly balance the state’s budget every year.
In 2019, Curtis also asked for his pay to be withheld.
“As he has done during previous government shutdowns, Rep. Curtis has already asked the Clerk of the House to withhold his pay until the government is fully funded. He strongly believes that both Republicans and Democrats should be held accountable to find common ground to solve this funding impasse,” Curtis wrote then.
