Barbara Comstock Asked that Her Salary Be Withheld During Government Shutdown

Submitted by the Office of Congresswoman Barbara Comstock  After learning that Congress members would continue to be paid during the government shutdown this weekend, Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (R) of Virginia's 10th District asked that she not be payed during the lapse of appropriations. "Since I do not agree with that policy, please withhold my pay until an appropriations agreement has taken effect," Comstock wrote in a letter Jan. 19 to Phil Kiko, Chief Administrative Officer at the Capitol Building. Comstock represents a district in Northern Virginia where many of her residents are government workers and thus will be directly affected by the government shutdown.

Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (R-VA) released the following statement after the United States Senate failed to pass a bill to fund the government:

As a result of a Democrat led filibuster, the Senate opted for a government shutdown instead of supporting our military and federal employees and the essential and important work they do. As the only Member of Congress in the National Capital Region to vote to keep the government open and stop shutdowns during both Democrat and Republican Administrations, it is simply unacceptable to hold our military and federal employees hostage.

Last night I voted for bipartisan legislation to fund the government. This legislation also funds the Children’s Health Insurance Program for 6 years; delays the Medical Device Tax for two additional years; delays the Cadillac healthcare tax for two additional years; and suspends the Health Insurance Tax for 2019. The House has also passed all twelve appropriations for FY18 and all have stalled in the U.S. Senate where Democrats refuse to compromise.  The policies in the House passed funding bill were all policies that have bipartisan agreement.  Yet, Democrats refuse to take yes for an answer on these issues we all agree on.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis spoke today about the negative effects of a government shutdown on our men and women in uniform, ‘Our maintenance activities will probably pretty much shut down... over 50 percent, altogether of my civilian workforce will be furloughed... we do a lot of intelligence operations around the world and they cost money, those obviously would stop.

Keeping the federal government open means keeping our intelligence and homeland security professionals on the job tracking down threats and terrorists.  Keeping the federal government open means the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, and National Security Agency officials will be one hundred percent focused on their mission. Keeping the federal government open means that National Institute of Health researchers keep working toward finding new cures for cancer and other chronic diseases.  Stopping the daily work of government is costly and disruptive to both our federal workforce as well as the contractors who assist with their missions.  The government shutdown in 2013 is estimated to have cost $24 billion according to Standard & Poor’s.

 The information in this article represents the thoughts of its author.