Congressman Doug Collins of Gainesville is one of five Georgia representatives who have asked to have their paychecks put on hold as the partial government shutdown continues.
Collins wrote a letter to Phil Kiko, the CEO of the House of Representatives, on Jan. 9, asking that his pay be withheld during "the current lapse in appropriations."
Republican Collins, who represents Georgia's 9th Congressional District, said he made the request in a show of solidarity with federal workers who have gone unpaid during the 26 days of the shutdown.
"As long as the shutdown is going on, I'm not going to take a paycheck," Collins said. "It's sad that the Democrats have brought us to this point, but we're going to continue to fight not only for these workers, but also for our rights on the border."
An estimated 16,000 federal employees in Georgia went unpaid for the last pay period.
Dozens of congressional representatives, both Democrat and Republican, are refusing their pay during the shutdown. In Georgia - besides Collins - Rob Woodall of Lawrenceville, Buddy Carter of Pooler, Austin Scott of Tifton and Rick Allen of Evans have refused pay for the time being, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Georgia Sen. David Perdue also has refused compensation during the shutdown, telling WDUN's Bill & Joel Morning Show on Wednesday the failure to agree on a spending plan is "unconscionable."
"What we're really talking about here is getting approval for federal spending - that's what this is about," Perdue said, noting that Congress should have dealt with the spending plan months ago.
You can hear all of Sen. Perdue's interview at the audio player accompanying this article.
