WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Lawmakers like Congressman Pete Sessions are still receiving pay as the government shutdown enters its seventh day, sparking frustration among local residents.
- Congressman Pete Sessions confirms lawmakers continue to receive pay during the shutdown.
- Local residents express frustration, saying officials shouldn’t be paid while the government is closed.
- Sessions says resolving the shutdown will require bipartisan support in the Senate.
Watch the full story here:
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The U.S. government is now on day seven of a countrywide shutdown and some of our neighbors are reaching out asking questions.
In an email one man said:
"Would like to know if with the shutdown do the political parties in Washington still get their salary. They should not get a dime of their salary until they get the government up and running."
To get some answers, 25 News sat down with U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions .
“The first thing I would say to them is not one person has missed a paycheck yet. We respect them as employees but getting enough people to follow all the rules all the time is hard,” said U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions.
Congressman Sessions confirms that he and other lawmakers are continuing to get paid their annual salaries during the shutdown.
“Even if you are a federal employee in work you will not be paid until the government comes back. Members of congress, by statute and law, otherwise we would withhold each other's paycheck all the time, there are no provisions to do that,” said Sessions.
But he tells 25 News he understands our neighbors' concerns.
“We are essential to the system and it needs to keep going… and yet our employees aren’t, so I do understand the argument,” said Sessions.
Sharing what he thinks it’ll take for our government to come to a resolution.
“It’s going to take 10 democrats to agree that they do want to join with republicans in the senate to end this shutdown,” said Sessions.
And if things aren’t resolved by the end of this week, Sessions plans to head out to the capitol himself.
“We’re trying to give people a sense that ‘yes we are in a government shutdown and we need to pay attention to it’ but my vote was already a yes,” said Sessions.
Two proposals to fund the government — one from democrats, one from republicans. Both failed in the senate Tuesday night.
