Florida Republican Representative Jimmy Patronis has told Newsweek that he will join the list of lawmakers who have requested that their salaries be withheld while the federal government is shut down.
“Look, if our servicemen and women aren’t getting paid, then I don’t want to be paid,” the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure member said. “So, I have suspended my pay.”
Why It Matters
The move from the lawmaker comes as thousands of federal government employees, who are considered essential workers, have been required to show up to work without receiving pay while the government is closed.
The shutdown has now lasted for more than a week as the Trump administration and Democrats have butted heads over reaching a funding deal, with health care subsidies being a key sticking point.
While Republicans have a majority in the Senate, they do not have the 60-seat threshold needed to pass a funding bill without bipartisan support.
What To Know
Patronis joins a list of other lawmakers that have said they will skip paychecks, including Republican Representatives Chip Roy, Ashley Hinson and John James and Democratic Representatives Josh Gottheimer and Lou Correa.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has said he would donate his salary during the shutdown to a nonprofit in South Carolina.
Over 13,000 Air Traffic Control employees are currently working without pay, according to data from the Department of Transportation.
Patronis believes that the longer the shutdown goes, the longer it’ll take to upgrade the country’s air traffic control system.
“So, we just put through the one Big Beautiful Bill over $12 billion to enhance the technology of air traffic control in our nation,” he told Newsweek. “So, now you, literally, every day that goes by, we are not able to execute on those precious tax dollars in order to make our system 21st-century ready. Right now, our air traffic control system is operating with technology that’s 40 years old and that’s just simply unacceptable.”
Furloughed employees and those required to work should be eligible to receive back pay when the government reopens.
President Donald Trump signed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act in 2019 which states that federal employees will be compensated for time during a shutdown.
What People Are Saying
Patronis told Newsweek that air traffic control positions are an issue during the shutdown: “We already have enough challenges filling those positions and now we’re getting an extraordinary spike in [sick calls]. So, now what’s happening, when you have fewer people working…you got to keep it safe. So, [it’s] an operation where it slows down air traffic control, it cancels flights. So, I mean it’s crazy, but this is kind of what happens when you push too hard on the system.”
What Happens Next
So far, there is no sign that a deal is imminent to end the shutdown and both sides have dug in to fight for their policies.