Sen. Rob Portman said he is donating his May salary to charities in Ohio after a Republican colleague proposed freezing senators' pay, a move that would violate the Constitution's 27th Amendment.
"I’ll be donating my salary thru May to 5 charitable organizations across the state of #Ohio," Portman, an Ohio senator since 2011, tweeted Monday. "These exceptional organizations are working tirelessly to provide help & relief to folks impacted by the #coronavirus pandemic."
Members of Congress make $174,000 annually — $14,500 a month — and the money stipulated through May will be divided among charities Portman cited, the Cleveland Foundation COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund, the Columbus Foundation Emergency Response Fund, the United Way of Greater Cincinnati Foundation local nonprofit fund, the Southeast Ohio Food Bank, and the Greater Toledo Community Foundation Covid-19 Response.
In 2019, Portman had an estimated net worth of $8.6 million, USA Today reported in October.
The move by Portman stands in contrast to a proposal dealing with lawmaker pay being prepared by Sen. Martha McSalley, an Arizona Republican who is in one of the nation's most competitive Senate races.
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McSally said March 24 that she would introduce legislation aimed at withholding pay from senators until a coronavirus stimulus package becomes law, amid last-minute wrangling between House Democrats and the Trump White House. President Trump signed the measure into law on Friday.
McSally's efforts mirrored a populist tactic often used during Capitol Hill budget stalemates. But it's one that's been deemed unconstitutional.
The 27th Amendment, ratified in 1992, prohibits members of Congress from changing their own pay during a current session of Congress. The amendment is aimed at preventing lawmakers from giving themselves pay raises in the middle of the night or retroactively at the end of congressional sessions. But it also means they can't cut their own pay either, not until after the next general election is held in November.
While the issue has never been tested in court, such proposals quickly fall away after constitutional questions are raised.
"Withholding pay, even temporarily, would 'vary' the compensation for members of Congress, and in their opinion," according to the National Constitution Center, in Philadelphia. Doing so "would present a direct violation of the 27th Amendment."
Individual lawmakers, however, are free to donate their salary to charity if earned during a virus pandemic, budget standoff, or any other situation. Portman, a former House member and trade and budget official in President George W. Bush's administration, is the first lawmaker to give away their salary during the coronavirus crisis.
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Senator donates salary while colleague pushes pay freeze - Washington Examiner
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