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From ELLE

The partial government shutdown over funding for President's Trump border wall will force hundreds of thousands of federal employees to work without pay, and hundreds of thousands more to be sent home without pay. New York Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez thinks members of Congress should be among them.

"Next time we have a gov shutdown," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Saturday, "Congressional salaries should be furloughed as well."

"It’s completely unacceptable that members of Congress can force a government shutdown on partisan lines & then have Congressional salaries exempt from that decision. Have some integrity."



Next time we have a gov shutdown, Congressional salaries should be furloughed as well.



It’s completely unacceptable that members of Congress can force a government shutdown on partisan lines & then have Congressional salaries exempt from that decision.



Have some integrity. https://t.co/BgueNNjf0f







- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) December 22, 2018

Ocasio-Cortez will be rare among congresspeople in that she comes from a working class background and is largely dependent on her congressional salary. In November, she told the New York Times she wasn't sure she could afford to rent an apartment in Washington, D.C. before she starts getting paid in January.

(Spoiler alert: most members of Congress are already wealthy!)



Speaking as a working class member-elect, I think it’s only fair.



It would also cause members who actually depend on their salary to think twice about leadership and take a shutdown vote more seriously. https://t.co/fSAcPAj0Xf







- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) December 22, 2018

Still, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, "speaking as a working class member-elect, I think it’s only fair. It would also cause members who actually depend on their salary to think twice about leadership and take a shutdown vote more seriously."

Story continues

On Thursday, a Republican lawmaker from Pennsylvania told Politico that he doubted the furlough would impact federal employees. “Who’s living that they’re not going to make it to the next paycheck?” Rep. Scott Perry said. (Most Americans, according to a 2017 survey.)



Tonight, I asked Scott Perry (R-Pa.) about effect of fed employees being furloughed. He argued it had no real impact since employees eventually get paid back.



"Who’s living that they’re not going to make it to the next paycheck?"



- Sarah Ferris (@sarahnferris) December 21, 2018

Furloughed federal workers will be repaid after the shut down ends-Thursday at the earliest. Trump tweeted Friday that if Democrats refuse to fund the $5 billion wall, the shut down "will last a long time."

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