A Democratic Senate duo is calling on House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to bring legislation that would prevent lawmakers and the president from being paid during a government shutdown to the House floor for a vote.
A similar bill passed the Senate unanimously, now Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) want the House to vote on it.
“While we may not agree on everything in this budget, lawmakers from both parties should agree on this: If we cannot fulfill our most basic responsibility to keep the government operating, we should not receive a paycheck,” the duo wrote in a Politico Op-Ed. “No Budget, no pay.”
Not only would the bill stop payment for Congress and the president, but it would prohibit them from being payed retroactively in the event of a shutdown.
Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) introduced the bill to the House but was blocked. Boxer and Casey are now calling on Speaker Boehner to act on it.
“Now is the time for the speaker to show that he means what he says by bringing this important bill up for a vote in the House,” Boxer and Casey wrote.