PORTLAND, Maine — Freshman Congressman Jared Golden spoke to NEWS CENTER Maine for the first time since his proposed legislation to withhold pay from lawmakers gained national attention this week.
The Solidarity in Salary Act aims to put the pay of members of Congress, the president and vice president in escrow until a deal is reached.
The second district representative said it is to support the more than 800,000 federal workers who went without pay during the longest shutdown in the nation’s history.
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“At the very least, we could join them in an act of solidarity,” Golden said.
When asked why he did not announce he would refuse pay during the shutdown, Golden said he was not even set to receive his first paycheck until this week.
Golden’s predecessor Republican Bruce Poliquin refused pay during previous shutdowns, donating the money to charity.
“To donate your pay to charity is a great thing. I'm not sure how that makes a federal employees whole,” Golden said. “They are the ones that are suffering and going through the inconvenience.”
During the shutdown, Golden was outspoken about his need to get republican and democratic leadership to work together. He claimed this legislation will do just that.
“My bill is really about saying we're going to share in that inconvenience at the very least,” he said.
The congressman downplayed the inability of Democrats to appease the president on the border wall issue, despite leadership promising to address the issue of border security once the shutdown ended.
“I personally am not opposed to putting up a physical barrier in places where it makes sense,” Golden said.
The latest proposal made Thursday does not include any funding for a border wall.
It does, however, promise funds for more agents and technology, something Golden supports.
However, he asserted he does not support a “border wall” that President Trump is pushing for.
“It’s such a black-and-white way to talk about it—a wall, no wall. I personally don’t oppose making investments in additional border barriers again where Homeland Security professionals else tell me it’s effective and necessary, but I’m not going to support some blanket statement about a wall across 2,000 miles of border,” Golden said.
Critics have tried to claim Rep. Golden is targeting the president and proposing legislation that ultimately would not impact the administration as Trump has chosen to donate his salary.
Golden insisted his legislation has nothing to do with that.
“This is not about the President of the United States today. There have been presidents past. There will be presidents future. Some accept pay some do not,” Golden said. “This is not some kind of political game of ‘gotcha’ attempt to go after President Trump.”