Congressional Paychecks During Shutdown
Members of Congress are still being paid during the government shutdown. Some have decided to donate their pay to charities or keep their paychecks. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Baltimore), Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Towson) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Kensington) were unavailable for comment.
Keeping paycheck
- Steny Hoyer
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Hoyer is keeping his paycheck during the shutdown. He also co-sponsored a bill to provide retroactive pay for all federal workers, furloughed and non-furloughed.
Representative (D, Mitchellville)
"Congressman Hoyer will continue working to end the government shutdown to ensure federal employees can return to work as soon as possible," said spokesperson Mariel Saez. - Barbara Mikulski
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Mikulski is keeping her paycheck during the shutdown. She is also co-sponsoring a bill to provide retroactive pay for all federal workers, furloughed and non-furloughed. “Right now hundreds of thousands of hardworking Americans, including thousands of Marylanders, are going without pay because House Republicans have decided to shut down the government with a ‘my way or the highway’ approach,” Mikulski said in a statement. “I’m hard at work trying to get the government reopened and fighting so all federal employees get paid. That’s why I’ve introduced legislation to guarantee federal workers furloughed through no fault of their own receive their full paycheck. We need to work as hard to open the federal government as our federal employees work every day for America.”
Senator (D, Maryland) - Benjamin Cardin
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Cardin is keeping his paycheck during the shutdown. He is also co-sponsoring a bill to provide retroactive pay for all federal workers, furloughed and non-furloughed.
Senator (D, Maryland)
“We have to find a way to get government open again," Cardin said in a statement. "This government shutdown is hurting our economy. It’s hurting the taxpayers. It’s hurting vital services. Most urgently, this shutdown is hurting our federal workers and their families – 124,000 in Maryland alone. There is a right way to treat the people in this country who are in the front lines of public service but this is not it. We need to ensure every agency is open for business and that our workers return to their jobs with pay. It is the responsible thing to do for these very real people and their families who have been caught in the crossfire of this shutdown.” - Donna Edwards
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Edwards is keeping her paycheck during the shutdown. She also co-sponsored a bill to provide retroactive pay for all federal workers, furloughed and non-furloughed.
Representative (D, Fort Washington)
“I do continue to draw my salary. You know, when they do the lists of the wealthiest members of Congress, I’m at the bottom 50. This is my job,” Edwards said in a WJLA interview on October 3.
Donating paycheck
- Andrew Harris
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Harris is donating his pay during the shutdown to crisis pregnancy centers in Maryland's 1st District, according to spokesperson John Dutton.
Representative (R, Cockeysville)
- John Delaney
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Delaney is donating his pay during the shutdown. Press Secretary Will McDonald said Delaney will donate his pay to Mercy Health Clinic, a Gaithersburg primary care provider serving lower-income residents in Montgomery County.
Representative (D, Potomac)
Declining paycheck
- Dutch Ruppersberger
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Ruppersberger is declining his paycheck during the shutdown. He also co-sponsored a bill to provide retroactive pay for all federal workers, furloughed and non-furloughed.
Representative (D, Cockeysville)
“His focus is on making sure no federal worker will lose pay and is sponsoring legislation to that effect. He will decline his pay unless federal employees who are furloughed during the shutdown are also compensated. If they don’t get paid, he doesn’t get paid,” said spokesperson Jaime Lennon.