Sponsors (3)
The resolution ties senators' pay to the end of government shutdowns to pressure faster funding resolutions and clarify payroll duties, but it withholds income during shutdowns and risks politicizing budget negotiations.
Taxpayers: Senators' pay is withheld during a shutdown and only released after it ends, creating a financial incentive for quicker resolution of funding gaps and potentially reducing the duration or frequency of costly shutdowns.
Office of the Secretary of the Senate: Assigns clear administrative responsibility to the Secretary (or a designee) to withhold and release pay, reducing procedural ambiguity and streamlining implementation.
Senators: Withholding pay may be perceived as punitive or used as leverage, which could politicize funding negotiations and complicate legislative cooperation.
Taxpayers: Senators (and those relying on regular legislative compensation) would not receive pay during shutdowns, reducing income for affected individuals during the shutdown period.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Secretary of the Senate to withhold Senators' pay during any lapse in appropriations and to release withheld pay after the shutdown ends.
Introduced December 3, 2025 by John Neely Kennedy · Last progress December 3, 2025
Requires the Secretary of the Senate (or a designee) to withhold any Senate compensation payments to individual Senators during any period when a "Government shutdown" — defined as a lapse in appropriations for one or more federal agencies or departments — is in effect, and to release those withheld payments as soon as practicable after the shutdown ends. The rule takes effect the day after the regularly scheduled November 2026 general election for federal office.