Rep. Scott Taylor, a member of the House Veterans Affairs and Military Construction committees, said Monday he's donating his salary during the shutdown to veterans' organizations.
"If we're not doing our work, we shouldn't get paid, and certainly not getting paid while the military doesn't get paid, who are overseas fighting for us," the Virginia Republican, a former Navy SEAL, told Fox News "Fox & Friends."
Taylor said in the first two days, he directed his salary to a group working for homeless veterans, and another that deals with preventing suicides among veterans.
"If we are going to shut down today, it will be [donated to] Operation Homefront, which helps active duty families with financial hardship, which is obviously appropriate for right now," said Taylor.
He also said he does not think there would be a government shutdown if lawmakers were not getting paid, because while some lawmakers are independently wealthy, "many are not."
In addition to people in the military, there are also federal workers in defense contracting and other support professions who will not be paid during the shutdown, said Taylor and will feel "pain very quickly, starting today."
"I think if lawmakers weren't getting paid they would feel the same pain and you wouldn't have this unnecessary shutdown," he said.
Taylor also commented on the politics behind the shutdown, telling the program he believes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer "miscalculated" by using immigration as an issue for the continuing resolution talks.
"While folks want to get a deal, it should not hold up the funding of the government," he said. "I know the American people believe the same, that it should not hold up government funding for immigration. It's a separate issue.
"There was a miscalculation. As you know, can you add up all the GOP votes in the Senate and you still need Democrat support to get to 60 votes. It's an unnecessary shutdown and should end today."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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