In October, the “shutdown” lasted for 43 days, during which federal employees were not paid. In a show of solidarity, senators agreed on Thursday to have their pay suspended if it were to happen again.
American senators agreed on Thursday to have their pay suspended in the event of a budget paralysis, similar to federal employees affected by these “shutdowns,” which are very unpopular among the American public. “In October, we shut down the government for 43 days. It is the longest ‘shutdown’ in the history of the United States,” highlighted Republican Senator John Kennedy before the vote, the author of the resolution adopted unanimously.
Whether it is FBI agents, national park “rangers,” researchers from health agencies, or even parliamentary assistants, “no one was being paid at that time,” emphasized the Louisiana lawmaker, who is not related to the former President Kennedy. “Three months later, we paralyzed the Department of Homeland Security for 76 days,” added John Kennedy from the floor.
“We should hang our heads in a sack. This must stop. Paralyzing the government should not be our default solution when we refuse to resolve our problems and differences,” said the lawmaker to his colleagues. “It’s a matter of shared sacrifice,” he added.
The measure only applies to senators, not to members of the House of Representatives. In the United States, when Congress fails to pass a budget before the deadline, the federal government enters a “shutdown.” Hundreds of thousands of employees are then furloughed, while others in essential roles (air traffic controllers, police, military personnel) continue to work but must wait for the budget paralysis to end to receive their salaries.
For this reason, many employees choose to take leave, or even resign, rather than work without being paid. This was the case within the TSA, the agency responsible for security checks at airports. During the early weeks of the most recent budget paralysis, air travel in the United States was significantly disrupted, with some airports reporting queues lasting several hours.
