Oregon Rep. Janelle Bynum asks for pay to be withheld during shutdown
PORTLAND, Ore. — U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., has requested that her pay be withheld during the federal government shutdown that began Wednesday.
In a letter to the House of Representatives’ Chief Administrative Officer, Bynum asked that her congressional salary be suspended for the duration of the shutdown.
"Members of Congress should play by the same rules as the people they represent," she wrote. "I do not think it would be right for me to continue to be paid while many public servants in Oregon are not receiving their salaries through no fault of their own."
The federal government shut down after Congress failed to reach a deal on a funding bill, forcing agencies to furlough thousands of “non-essential” employees. Federal workers in critical positions must continue working but will not receive paychecks until Congress approves new spending.
Members of Congress, however, continue to be paid. Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution requires congressional salaries to be paid regardless of government funding levels. Their pay comes directly from the U.S. Treasury under a separate funding stream from the appropriations bills that stalled.
Most members of Congress earn $174,000 annually, a figure unchanged since 2009. The House speaker earns $223,500, while the Senate president pro tempore and party leaders in both chambers receive $193,400.
"Until Congress reaches a bipartisan resolution to this impasse, one that makes whole the workers I represent in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, and fully reopens the government, I firmly believe that Member pay should be withheld," Bynum said. "Washington’s dysfunction is unacceptable, and Oregonians have had enough. Until both parties come to the table, do their job, and reopen the government, Members of Congress should not receive pay."
KGW has reached out to the Chief Administrative Officer of the House to ask whether Bynum’s request can be granted but has not yet received a response.