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Politico...
Lawmakers won’t miss
a paycheck
By Erika Lovley
February 23, 2011
If the government shuts down, thousands of government employees would
be furloughed without pay, federal agencies and parks would shutter,
and congressional staffer paychecks would stop.
But the elected members of Congress? Their $174,000 a year pay checks
would keep coming.
Under U.S. law, elected members of Congress — as well as the president
and uniformed military personnel — are exempt from furlough, but most
congressional employees are not.
Members of Congress can require “essential” employees to report to work
without immediate pay, something that could anger staffers who have no
real choice in the matter.
“When you have people living paycheck to paycheck, this is going to be
a hardship. This is a crises for an office,” said Congressional
Management Foundation CEO Brad Fitch, who worked as a Senate press
secretary during the 1996 government closures. “There will not be
consistency across the board, especially in the Senate, because the
office sizes vary so greatly.”
While thousands of staffers make six-figure salaries, thousands of
others, including legislative aides and other assistants earn barely
more than $30,000, all while living in one of the most expensive cities
in the nation.
“It is certainly something that staffers, particularly back home in
district offices, are concerned about,” a House Democratic staffer
said. “And considering the high cost of living up here in D.C., missing
even a portion of a paycheck would be a hardship to many junior
staffers.”
“It’ll be annoying, depends on how long it goes on,” a Senate
Democratic staffer said. “I have been saving money to buy, so obviously
I have something to use if it goes on awhile, but it is a big worry for
our junior staffers.”
Read the full story at Politico
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