With this government shutdown, I am very concerned about my best friend who works for the government and is now furloughed because of the shutdown without pay. I believe Congress wields too much power when it comes to their own pay. Most may say good luck with changing that but there is something “We The People “ can do.
First off we can advocate for a new Amendment that would take the ability of Congress to get paid during a government shutdown as well as the ability to set their own salary.
Such amendment can read like this:
“No Member of Congress or officer of the United States shall have the ability to set their own salary or receive any compensation, allowance, or benefit for any period during which the federal government is not funded and operations are suspended in whole or in part. Compensation forfeited under this section shall not be recoverable.”
This punishes inaction directly and strips Congress of their ability to set their own salary forcing Congress to function to actually do their job and prevent political posturing at the people’s expense.
How “The People” Can Push for This
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Pressure candidates to support pay reform and constitutional limits.
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Petition your state legislature 34 states can call for a Constitutional Convention (article V) limited to this issue.
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Grassroots movement: If enough states align, the Convention of States could propose the amendment directly (bypassing Congress’s self-interest).
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The 27th Amendment only delays pay changes; it doesn’t remove the conflict of interest.
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The only way to permanently fix it is:
A. A constitutional amendment giving salary authority to an independent commission maybe comprised of members of state legislators? or objective formula, and/or
B. A federal law that automatically ties congressional pay to measurable national outcomes (e.g., median income, balanced budgets, or cost of living).
Possibly the powers of the “Constitutional Convention” granted to the people could be the work around we need to pass universal health care and other progressive policies which bypass Congress and the political party majority that has hampered our government.
A prime time to try to enact these powers may be after midterm elections where many republicans in state legislature may be voted out of office.