Congress Continues to Get Paid During a Shutdown, Even Though They're Responsible

The government shutdown has already lasted more than a week, and there aren't many indications of when it might end. As the effects of the shutdown become more real, and certain government employees start going without paychecks, many are wondering whether members of Congress are among those who are not getting paid.

Members of Congress have not been able to reach a deal on funding for the government, which is the reason the shutdown happened to begin with. Here's what we know about why Congress is getting paid through the shutdown.

Congress is getting paid through the shutdown because of how its pay is handled in the Constitution. Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution states: "The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States."

Basically, then, while much of the federal government is funded by Congress itself, Congress's funding is in the Constitution.

Congressional salaries have been funded by a permanent apportionment, meaning a funding measure that does not have to be passed by Congress every year, since 1983, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service. This means that their pay doesn't have to be renewed.

The question of who else will continue being paid is one that is being worked out in the open.

President Trump has worked to secure pay for military troops through the shutdown, but the president does not have the authority to apportion funds. Congress has been granted the power of the purse in the Constitution, and so it is ultimately Congress that must decide what does and does not receive funding based on which services are deemed essential and which are not.

Now that we know that members of Congress are getting paid through the shutdown, you might naturally wonder how much they're getting paid. The salary for most members of Congress is $174,000 per year, while the Speaker of the House earns $223,500 and president pro tempore of the Senate and the party leaders in both chambers make $193,400, according to the Senate website.

These salaries were last established back in 2009 and have not changed since. The news that Congress is still getting paid might understandably upset some people who feel that members of Congress are not doing their jobs. As is the case with the president, though, members of Congress are never allowed to do their jobs for free because of rules set forth by the Constitution.

While Democrats and Republicans are working hard to make sure that the blame for the shutdown gets pinned on the other party, all of them are continuing to receive their paychecks. It's a system that seems almost designed to make people feel disconnected from the political process, and one that will also leave Congress disconnected from the federal employees who are not receiving paychecks through the shutdown.