Don’t stop at paychecks; Halt Congress’ fundraising too

The federal government began its new year on October 1^st. It did so without any money appropriated from Congress to fund its operations. We’re now in November, and as of this writing there is no clear pathway to ending Congress’ gridlock.

Let’s first stipulate some facts, before we consider a solution for “next time.”  Unfortunately with our modern Congress and deep political divisions, we can always expect – even predict – a next time.

Congress is shut down because Democrats in the U.S. Senate have refused a vote to fund the government. They are using the modern version of what we call a filibuster to refuse the vote, up or down, on a continuing resolution to fund the government at last year’s levels.

Democrats are using the excuse that they have priorities that haven’t been considered.  Their usual stated reason is that Republicans won’t continue subsidies that have masked the true cost of the “Affordable” Care Act.  

Those of us who are self-employed and have no other insurance options have long since known that “affordable” was always a ruse. My silver level plan with a $7,000 deductible will rise from $990 per month to $1,450 per month next year. This is a system passed purely with Democratic votes, who now want to blame Republicans for the bills coming due.

Democrats also want to repeal some changes to Medicaid and other programs that make it easier for states to mask who receives the aid. They want to pretend that those who came to this country outside legal channels are not receiving benefits meant for American citizens.

Last week Democrats somehow settled on the talking point that the costs of the shutdown was their “leverage.” With military and federal employees going unpaid, and now SNAP recipients’ benefits in jeopardy, American citizens cannot be happy about being told they are “leverage” so the minority party can extract even more deficit spending for a failed medical cost control plan and/or to give tax dollars to non-citizens.

Republicans have priorities too. It must be understood that the CR as passed by the House forgoes all of them. All of the Biden and prior era spending remains in place.  It’s not a pill that many Republicans want to swallow, but for once, they decided this wasn’t the place to fight those battles.  

This is, clearly and unambiguously, the Democrats’ shutdown.

While our soldiers, air traffic controllers, TSA, federal law enforcement, and many other “essential” federal workers must remain on the job without pay, Congress continues to accomplish little but, as is mandated by the Constitution, receives their full pay. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham took to Fox News to propose a constitutional amendment to have Congress forfeit its pay during any future shutdown.

Often these proposals are gestures made during heightened media scrutiny, quickly forgotten about when things return to normal. This one may be too, but it doesn’t have to be.  

Citizens on the left and right should be able to find some common ground here. If Congress can’t figure out how to get our troops paid, they shouldn’t be receiving regular paychecks either.  

I’d like to make a modest proposal to put some additional teeth into Senator Graham’s proposal. As most members of Congress could be easily described as “wealthy”, many of them can afford to miss a paycheck or two to make a political point. 

This is especially true if it is written where they get back pay when funding is appropriated. Senator Graham’s words on TV said “forfeit.” Any wording of his actual amendment needs to make clear that once lost, the pay is always lost.

But for Congress to really be motivated, some additional teeth are warranted. It’s no secret that members of Congress spend much if not most of their time raising campaign funds. The amendment should bar them from soliciting or receiving campaign funds, for them or for any political action committee, party, or other group which conducts political advocacy.

Further, it should freeze spending from any campaign accounts. This would ensure that if the federal government were to shut down, the entire industry of Washington D.C. would shut down with it.   

It’s likely that this gesture to rein in Congressional paychecks will quickly be forgotten. If it gets close enough to get to a vote and then to states for ratification, let’s put some real teeth in the measure for it to matter next time.