From USA Today -

By Catalina Camia, USA TODAY

Members of Congress say they'll donate their pay to the U.S. Treasury or charity if the government shuts down.



Add House Speaker John Boehner to the growing list of members of Congress who say they'll skip their paycheck if the federal government shuts down tonight.

By law, members of Congress and the president would continue to receive their pay in the event of a government shutdown.

Boehner is sending a letter to House lawmakers explaining how the House Administration can help them return their pay to the U.S. Treasury, which he plans to do.

Several lawmakers in both parties have said they will either donate their pay to charity or give it back to the U.S. Treasury if a budget deal cannot be reached and the government closes its doors at midnight.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has joined an effort led by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to get members of Congress to give up their pay. Manchin's "no budget, no pay," pledge has attracted support from two dozen lawmakers, including Republicans John McCain of Arizona and freshmen senators Mark Kirk of Illinois and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

Boehner's annual salary is $223,500 -- the most for a member of Congress because he is by law second in line to the presidency. Reid earns $193,400. Members outside of the top leadership group receive $174,000 for 2011.

And from FOXNews -

Not only will neither chamber pass the other's no-pay bill, but the 27th Amendment to the Constitution provides that laws changing congressional pay don't take effect until the following term.

Issa noted this concern, as did Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del. But Coons said the Constitution wouldn't prevent lawmakers from volunteering to give up their pay.

"There is a constitutional issue here. We might have to voluntarily give back our pay in the event of a shutdown. But I think the pain here ought to be spread broadly," Coons told Fox News. "The average folks out there watching this ought to know that we in Washington get it, that a shutdown is an embarrassing failure on our part to do the job we were hired to come here and do."

Dan Weiser, spokesman for the chief administrative officer of the House, said members of Congress have to receive their paychecks by law, but that, if they don't give them to charity, they can also use them to pay down the national debt. However, The Washington Post reported last month that just a few lawmakers have gotten in the habit of doing that, and that donations from Congress to the debt totaled just $15,000 in 2010.