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Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) has submitted a letter to the Chief Administrative Officer requesting that his pay be withheld during the current government shut down. The shutdown started at midnight as a result of Senate Democrats’ vote to block legislation, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, that would keep the government open and extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years.

“There is nothing in the House funding bill that Democrats haven’t previously voted for, yet they still decided to shut the government down,” said Latta. “Led by Chuck Schumer, they have made a decision to put politics first and are holding the country hostage in order to get their way on unrelated issues. While we wait for Senate Democrats to do the right thing, I have asked that my pay be withheld. Regardless of who caused the shutdown, Members of Congress should not be receiving their pay while the men and women in our military are not receiving theirs.”

Congressman Latta voted for the government funding bill on Thursday evening. That legislation also included a six-year extension of CHIP, health care for 224,000 children in Ohio and nine million children nationwide. This was the third time Latta had voted for a long-term extension of the CHIP program, including a standalone bill, the Championing Healthy Kids Act, that he helped approve in the Energy and Commerce Committee in October, and on the House floor in November. He also voted for a short-term extension of the program as part of the previous two continuing resolutions.

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