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Lawmakers from region would donate pay
YOUNGSTOWN
A government shutdown doesn’t impact the pay of Congress members, but several who represent this area say they will give their salaries away to charities.
“Neither I nor any of my colleagues should receive our paychecks,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Poland, R-6th. “It is unconscionable that members of Congress think that our salary is more important than anyone else’s.”
Each member of Congress receives $174,000 annually in salary — or about $476.71 a day.
Some members want to not accept salaries during a government shutdown but say the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits that.
The amendment reads: “No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.”
So several legislators, including those who represent this area, plan to give away the money they’d earn during a shutdown.
Johnson said he’d give his salary during a shutdown to eastern and southeastern Ohio veterans organizations.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, plans to give his salary to charities.
When asked why he’d donate the money, Ryan said, “People are hurting out there,” and not taking his salary is “a sign of leadership.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly of Butler, Pa., R-3rd, also said he’d donate his salary to local charities.
U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire of McCandless, Pa., D-4th, said he supported legislation to prohibit members of Congress from receiving pay in the event of a government shutdown.
But when asked if that means he’d refuse pay during a shutdown, his office sent an email stating: “He will abide by the same terms as all other federal employees who work in the event of a shutdown.”
Federal employees who work during shutdowns are paid their full salaries.
Paul Sracic, chairman of Youngstown State University’s political science department, said many of those in Congress giving their salaries away are doing it to deflect attention from the real issue.
“It’s just politics,” he said. “I think most Americans are more concerned with the government being shut down. Giving up their pay is just a big distraction from the central issue of how do we resolve this debate?”
Sracic added that those who accept their salary during a shutdown won’t face long-term repercussions.
“No one will remember it,” he said. “It’s a minor point.”
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, said he’s “disappointed” Democrats “have not put forth serious plans to reduce the record deficit and debt, which hurt today’s economy and threaten opportunity for future generations.”
Portman plans to donate his salary during a shutdown to the U.S. Department of Treasury “to reduce the debt.”
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, will donate his salary to charities.
“If the government is shut down, I shouldn’t be getting a paycheck,” he said. “Hardworking Ohioans deserve elected officials who will take a serious approach to passing a budget. But when Washington politicians use the budget process to pick ideological fights, American taxpayers lose out. ... Bad behavior by Washington politicians shouldn’t be rewarded with paychecks.”