“There’s hope in the words and emotion in the eyes
It’s so easy to be misled by the savvy gentle guise
And like fools we trust the delivery
But it’s all just drunk sincerity”
-Bad Religion, ‘Drunk Sincerity’
The decrepit fiends of The Swamp are out in full force putting on a big show of solidarity with all of their subjects constituents left out in the rain when the gears of state grind to a halt.
What they rarely, if ever, mention is that their paychecks arrive regardless of whether the government gets shut down or not, or for how long.
Via Constitution Center (emphasis added):
“Over in the Legislative Branch, the support staff for Congress would be affected. “During a funding gap, pay for congressional employees would not be disbursed if there is no appropriation to fund legislative branch activities,” the CRS says. Staffers deemed critical would need to work because they are needed to “support Congress with its constitutional responsibilities or those necessary to protect life and property.”
But members of Congress will still get paychecks, under two parts of the Constitution. Article I, Section 6, says that congress members “shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.” The 27th Amendment also forbids any change in the compensation rate for Congress during a current term.”