Arizona congressman requests pay suspension during shutdown

PHOENIX — An Arizona congressman has requested his pay be suspended while the federal government is partially shut down.

Rep. Matt Salmon said he made the request to recognize the federal employees who were going without paychecks during the shutdown.

“Because this gridlock has unfairly affected thousands of furloughed federal employees, I have voluntarily requested that my congressional pay be suspended for the duration of the appropriations lapse,” he said in a statement.

Salmon said the disagreement is a “new low in gridlock politics” and said House Republicans have submitted four bills to alleviate the shutdown only to have them rejected by Senate Democrats.