Government Shutdown Salary Suspension Act
This bill, titled the Government Shutdown Salary Suspension Act, would suspend the salaries of Members of Congress, the President, and the Vice President during any government shutdown. Instead of paying these salaries immediately, the affected pay would be deposited into escrow accounts and only released after the shutdown ends (or, for Members, at the end of the current Congress or term, to avoid constitutional issues under the 27th Amendment). The payroll processes would be adjusted to withhold the equivalent amount for each day a shutdown lasts, and all standard tax withholdings would still apply. The act also assigns roles to the Treasury and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to implement and administer these escrow arrangements and defines what counts as a government shutdown for purposes of the law. In short, the bill creates a mechanism to delay salaries for top federal executives and congressional leaders during shutdowns, rather than paying them on the normal schedule, while preserving the eventual payment and aiming to comply with constitutional constraints.
Key Points
- 1Escrow of salaries during shutdowns for Members of Congress and top executives: On any day a shutdown is in effect, payroll administrators must withhold an amount equal to the daily rate of pay times the number of 24-hour shutdown periods, placing it in an escrow account for each affected individual.
- 2Release timing to avoid constitutional issues: Amounts withheld are released only after the shutdown ends, or (for Members) at the end of the current Congress/term, with a provision intended to prevent altering compensation during a term in violation of the 27th Amendment.
- 3Separate treatment for Members vs. President/VP: Members’ salaries are escrowed by each House’s payroll administrator and released at the end of Congress, while the President and Vice President’s salaries are escrowed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and released at the end of the Presidential/VP term.
- 4Roles of government offices: The Treasury Department helps payroll administrators carry out the escrow requirements, and OPM administers the escrow for the President and Vice President.
- 5Definition of “government shutdown”: The act defines a shutdown as a lapse in appropriations for any federal agency or department due to failures to enact regular appropriations bills or continuing resolutions.