Today, in a Response to my question about his involvement in the shutdown, Representative Kevin Yoder, KS-01 pointed out to me that he was also abhored.. and he had a solution: he would take no pay:
October 1, 2013
Dear passage of clean bill,
Thank you for taking the time to contact my office to express your concern about the shutdown of the government.
A shutdown of the federal government is unacceptable and I do not support it. My duty as your Congressman is to ensure that the government provides services to all Americans. As your Representative, I am committed to working towards a compromise that will keep our government open. I also believe that until the government reopens, Members of Congress should be hel d accountable for our actions. In order to provide accountability, I have cosponsored H.R. 3152, legislation that prohibits Members of Congress from getting paid until the government reopens.
During the shutdown, please know that Medicare, Social Security, and pension payments will not be impacted. In addition, the House and Senate have passed legislation to ensure that the men and women serving in the military will get paid for their service during a shutdown.
It is my hope that this situation will quickly be resolved. However, please know that my staff and I are a vailable to provide quality constituent services should you need assistance.
Thank you for contacting my office. I value your feedback.
And I wonder: has he even read the constitution lately?
27th Amendment: No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
Have they lost their minds? While a nice political ploy: "We just won't be paid!" Have they not read the constitution recently? Has there been a nationwide election I was unaware of? They cannot change their pay - up or down - until the vote takes effect for the next elected officers.
So, thanks for the laughable attempt at political points, you Republicans. It was nice and funny.
But I guess what it shows me is that you really don't care about the constitution because you can't even keep track of the new amendments. It's good you'll just put your checks in a shoebox and wait. But, uh, you can't change your pay.
Of course, I am aware they are not actually changing pay, just delaying it.. however, they are clearly implying to their constituents 'we won't be paid' as subtle deception
:)