Fitzpatrick to refuse salary during government shutdown
Bucks County Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-01) said that he will not accept his salary during the federal government shutdown.
Fitzpatrick sent a letter to Catherine Szpindor, the chief administrative officer for the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, asking her to “withhold any and all payments to me for the entire duration of any lapse in government funding.”
He called out his “colleagues who voted against the bipartisan, bicameral funding bill” that passed the House last week that would have avoided the shutdown, saying “put your money where your mouth is.”
The bill passed the U.S. House by a 217-212 vote with only one Democrat – Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) – joining all 216 Republicans “yes” votes.
The bill did not pass the Senate, failing 48-44, while eight members did not vote. Both Pennsylvania senators – John Fetterman (D) and Dave McCormick (R) – voted for the bill with Fetterman providing the only Democratic support.
The federal government shut down in the early morning Wednesday, raising the specter of furloughs for up to 750,000 federal employees, per the Congressional Budget Office. President Donald Trump and other administration officials have threatened using the shutdown as a pretext to further cull the federal workforce if Democrats refuse to support legislation to reopen the government.
Democrats, meanwhile, are holding out in pursuit of an extension on soon-to-expire health insurance subsidies.
Update
Since our original publication of this story, at least seven other Pennsylvania representatives in Congress have also stated their intention to not accept a salary during the shutdown – Reps. Dwight Evans, Chrissy Houlahan, Rob Bresnahan, Dan Meuser, Lloyd Smucker, John Joyce, and Chris Deluzio.
Steve Ulrich is the managing editor of PoliticsPA, where this article first appeared.
