Rep. Rick Nolan, D-Minn. is fed up with lawmakers threatening to shut down the government, so on Friday, he introduced a bill that would prevent future Congresses from getting paid in the event of a shutdown.
"It's time to put an end to government by crisis management," Nolan said in a statement, reported The Huffington Post. "And it's time for Congress to start living in the real world - where you either do your job - or you don't get paid. If hundreds of thousands of other federal employees are to go without their salaries - twisting slowly in the wind in a government shutdown - then the Congress should not be paid either."
The proposal, if enacted, wouldn't apply to the current Congress, which faces a potential government shutdown if a spending bill isn't passed before Oct. 1. Per the Constitution's 27th Amendment, no law can change lawmakers' salaries during the current term, explains The Hill.
Following the release of a series of controversial undercover videos allegedly showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing the harvesting and sale of aborted baby body parts, many Republicans have vowed to block the government funding bill unless the organization is defunded. Planned Parenthood currently receives some $500 million in federal funds per year, but the 1976 Hyde Amendment prevents that money from being used for abortions, so it is used strictly for cancer screening, birth control and other women's health services, according to HuffPo.
Nolan said his legislation "would require the Congress to work full time - with no salary - during any government shutdown until they pass a bill to fund our government and pay the public employees who go to work on our behalf every day."
On Friday, in a 241-187 vote, the House passed a bill that would block all federal funding to Planned Parenthood for one year, as HNGN reported. However, such a measure is unlikely to have enough support to defeat a Democratic filibuster or President Obama's promised veto.
