Sen. Martha McSally plans to introduce legislation aimed at withholding pay from senators until a coronavirus stimulus package becomes law, adopting a populist tactic often used during Capitol Hill budget stalemates.
“If the Senate can’t come together in a time of great need, no Senator should receive a paycheck — like millions of Americans,” McSally, an Arizona Republican, tweeted Monday. “If the urgent COVID-19 relief package fails again, I’m introducing a bill immediately to withhold Senators’ pay until Americans are put before politics.”
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If the Senate can’t come together in a time of great need, no Senator should receive a paycheck—like millions of Americans. If the urgent COVID-19 relief package fails again, I’m introducing a bill immediately to withhold Senators’ pay until Americans are put before politics.
— Martha McSally (@SenMcSallyAZ) March 23, 2020
McSally’s plan comes amid a breakdown in negotiations between the Trump administration and congressional Democrats, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Democrats blocked a $2 trillion stimulus package for the second time on Monday, saying they want a four-month extension in unemployment insurance — among other provisions.
Versions of McSally’s lawmaker-pay-withholding proposal have been offered by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, suggesting they shouldn’t receive their $174,000 annual salary absent an agreement.
But there’s a constitutional roadblock to making it happen. The 27th Amendment, ratified in 1992, prohibits members of Congress from changing their own pay during a current session of Congress. The amendment is aimed at preventing lawmakers from giving themselves pay raises in the middle of the night or retroactively at the end of congressional sessions. But it also means they can’t cut their own pay either, not until after the next general election is held in November.
The coronavirus bill is stuck over provisions sought by House Democrats unrelated to the virus. Their own economic stimulus bill includes restrictions on airline emissions, a provision that would require airlines to include a labor union official on company boards, funding for refugee programs, and billions in funding for schools.
Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, called the provisions in the House bill “a liberal wish list.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that he expects to have a deal on Tuesday morning, according to an NBC report.
A spokesperson for McSally told the Washington Examiner that they expect to introduce the bill today.
