Lawmakers from both parties rally around 'no budget no pay' ahead of deadline
Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Rick Scott are reaching across the aisle
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are once again rallying around the idea of "no budget, no pay" before a stopgap spending bill expires on Friday.
Centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Democrat, and Republican Sen. Rick Scott renewed the call for lawmakers to go without pay if they cannot pass a budget in a letter to congressional leaders last week.
"When Congress fails to pass appropriations, the American people are hurt. Just this year, American families suffered under the longest government shutdown in U.S. history," they wrote. "Air traffic controllers, members of the Coast Guard, and fire safety officials worked without pay, while members of Congress continued to receive their paychecks."
Scott urged his fellow lawmakers to pass "No Budget, No Pay" legislation in a Fox News op-ed written with Republican Sens. Steve Daines, of Montana, and Mike Braun, of Indiana, last week.
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"If Congress can’t do its most basic task, then members of Congress shouldn’t get a paycheck," they wrote. "Not only is this common sense, it's moving through Congress with bipartisan support. It was approved by the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee in June, and is included as part of the End Government Shutdowns Act."
Kyrsten Sinema, Steve Daines and Rick Scott.
They pointed out that such legislation had passed before.
"The No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 passed Congress with bipartisan support and was signed into law by the president," the senators wrote. "The applicable provisions were temporary and have since expired, but we were left a successful blueprint."