McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — The federal government shutdown is in its third week. And some South Texas lawmakers tell Border Report they aren’t taking pay until the government resumes and other workers are being paid.
The U.S. Constitution says senators and congressional representatives are to get paid from the U.S. Treasury, despite any government shutdowns.
But several South Texas border lawmakers say it’s not fair for them to receive money when hundreds of thousands of government workers aren’t.
“No, I’m not receiving my check. I purposely did that like I’ve done in other shutdowns because if federal employees don’t get their checks, I’m not going to get the paycheck,” U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, told Border Report on Wednesday.
Cuellar said he sent a letter on Oct. 1 — the first day of the shutdown — to the House of Representatives official in charge of pay telling them to withhold his paycheck until the government reopens..
“I got 15,000 federal employees from Border Patrol to OFO, to other folks that are not gonna get paid – 15,000 people in my district. And I feel their pain. And therefore, if they don’t get paid, I’m not gonna get paid,” Cuellar said via zoom from his offices in Washington, D.C.
However, many Republicans, he said aren’t working on Capitol Hill.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has recessed the House until Friday.
“For three weeks in a row, they have canceled votes,” Cuellar said. “How do you sit down and negotiate when they cancel votes and half of the Congress is not here?”
The Senate is in session.
And on Wednesday, Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas, told Border Report that he voted for a ninth time to reopen the government.
“I voted just today to reopen the government. I voted yesterday to reopen the government. Unfortunately Democrats have forced this government shutdown,” Cruz said.
Cruz says Democrats are holding out for an extension of healthcare subsidies under Obamacare that he says will insure “illegal aliens.”
“The Democrats are insisting in the Senate on repealing those fraud protections and in particular repealing the section that bans illegal immigrants from getting Medicaid,” Cruz said.
Cuellar told Border Report that undocumented immigrants are not covered under the Affordable Care Act.
Regardless their differences on the issues, they both agree not to take home a paycheck right now.
“Ordinarily, during the shutdown, members of Congress continue to get their paycheck. I believe that’s wrong. And so before the shutdown began, I sent a letter to the Secretary of the Senate saying, please hold my paycheck. Do not deposit a dollar of salary in my bank account until the shutdown is over. I’m not going to be paid until our servicemen and women are paid until our government workers are being paid,” Cruz said.
A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said he also wasn’t accepting pay.
“The Senator has requested that his paycheck be withheld and is not receiving a salary,” the spokesperson told Border Report on Wednesday.
However, Republican U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, whose South Texas district includes parts of Hidalgo County, recently didn’t quite answer when asked whether she was taking home pay right now, or not.
“There are things in the constitution for furloughed and for congressmen, but at this time, there’s no reason for the government to be shut down. Really, there is not,” De La Cruz told Border Report.
U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, who represents Cameron and parts of Hidalgo counties on the border did not respond to questions from Border Report on Wednesday.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@borderReport.com.
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