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How are Members of Congress compensated during a lapse in appropriations
Executive summary
Members of Congress continue to receive pay during a lapse in appropriations because their salaries are funded by a permanent appropriation and courts have treated lawmaker pay as constitutionally protected; many members have publicly pledged to withhold, donate, or escrow their pay during the 2025 shutdown while bills have been introduced to change that practice (see constitutional guarantee and press coverage) [1] [2] [3]. Legislative proposals and companion bills — including the Shutdown Fairness Act for federal employees and multiple measures from Senators John Kennedy and others to withhold or escrow congressional pay — reflect competing remedies but none had become law as of the cited reporting [4] [5] [6].
1. Why Members of Congress still get paid: the constitutional and appropriations mechanics
Members’ pay is not tied to the annual appropriations process the way most federal workers’ pay is; since 1983 Congress has funded its own salaries through a standing appropriation and courts and longstanding practice treat congressional compensation as protected by the Constitution, which is why members continue to receive checks even when other agencies furlough workers during a shutdown [3] [1] [2].
2. Political optics and voluntary withholding: solidarity vs. practicality
Many lawmakers have chosen to publicly refuse, donate, or ask payroll offices to withhold their pay to signal solidarity with unpaid federal employees; outlets reported dozens of senators and representatives taking that route during the 2025 shutdown, while others said forgoing pay would be “gimmicks” that don’t help workers who need immediate cash [2] [1]. The available reporting shows a mix of gestures: some members accept pay, some donate it, some request withholding — but the choices are individual and symbolic, not a systemic change [1] [2].
3. Proposed fixes: bills to withhold pay or ensure federal workers get back pay
Multiple legislative efforts came forward in 2025: the Shutdown Fairness Act (S.3012) aimed to appropriate funds so federal employees who work during a shutdown would be paid, effectively protecting frontline staff [4]; separate bills from Sen. John Kennedy and Rep. Bryan Steil would prevent lawmakers from receiving pay during shutdowns or place pay into escrow until later, attempting to sidestep constitutional constraints like the 27th Amendment [5] [7] [6].
4. Legal constraints and workaround strategies
Advocates for cutting congressional pay face constitutional and statutory hurdles: the 27th Amendment bars changing legislators’ pay within the same Congress, so some proposals instead would withhold or escrow pay rather than reduce the statutory rate — a tactic discussed explicitly by sponsors and reported in the press [7] [5]. Sources describe these workaround designs but do not report that any such measure had become law at the time of the coverage [6] [5].
5. Who pays whom and when: differences for troops, federal staff, and members
While Members of Congress have a continuing appropriation for salaries, federal civilian employees and many contractors are subject to annual appropriations and can face furloughs or delayed pay; the Bipartisan Policy Center and news coverage quantified large numbers of affected paychecks and noted special actions — for example, Treasury transfers that temporarily covered active-duty troops during the 2025 shutdown — underscoring the piecemeal nature of who gets paid and why [8] [9].
6. Political incentives and hidden agendas behind proposals
Bills to withhold congressional pay are politically attractive as optics — sponsors frame them as making lawmakers “feel the same pain” as federal workers — but those proposals also shift blame and leverage in ongoing budget fights; proponents include Republicans such as Sen. Kennedy and Rep. Steil who emphasized fairness to troops and furloughed workers while opponents and some lawmakers question whether symbolic measures help those missing immediate pay [5] [6] [2].
7. What reporting does not settle
Available sources do not mention, in a definitive statutory ruling, that Congress could be stripped of pay midterm without running afoul of the 27th Amendment — reporting instead documents workaround bills and political debate [7] [5] [6]. Likewise, current reporting does not show enacted law that permanently changes the long-standing funding mechanism for congressional salaries as of these articles [3] [6].
8. Bottom line for readers
Practically: members of Congress continue to be paid during a lapse in appropriations because their compensation is funded differently and legally protected, but many are choosing to withhold or donate pay as a political gesture; legislated, systemic changes have been proposed (escrow, withholding, or new appropriations for federal workers) but, per the cited reporting, had not yet removed the constitutional and statutory protections that let lawmakers receive pay during the 2025 shutdown [3] [1] [4] [5].