This week marks the third week of the government shutdown – and there continues to be no end in sight. This week, millions of federal workers officially missed their first paycheck. These workers are staring down the barrel of piling bills; many are unable to put gas in the car or food on the table for their families.

The consequences of a prolonged shutdown are stacking up fast. Federal services are grinding to a halt. Veterans’ career counseling and regional offices have gone dark. Flight delays and travel disruptions are wreaking havoc across the country. And for every week this drags on, the U.S. economy takes a $15 billion hit. A month-long shutdown means 43,000 more Americans are thrown out of work.

And yet, there’s one group that hasn’t missed a single paycheck: members of Congress. While working-class families are about to miss paychecks their livelihoods depend on, fat-cat politicians in Washington continue to get paid. It’s time for Congress to feel the pain they’re inflicting on millions of Americans.

Congress should miss their paychecks.

Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego displayed the hypocrisy out loud as the shutdown began. In an interview with NBC News, he defended his refusal to forgo his salary during the shutdown, saying, “I’m not wealthy, and I have three kids. I would basically be missing, you know, mortgage payments, rent payments, child support.”

Exactly, Senator. That’s precisely what millions of everyday Americans are facing right now.

Ask yourself – would this shutdown even happen in the first place if members of Congress couldn’t make their own mortgage payments or pay their own rent? If they were scrambling to fill up their gas tanks or stay on their feet? Not a chance.

My heart breaks for the families who are beginning to feel this impact while their members of Congress treat this like a political game. I’ve lived this struggle myself. In 2005, my husband Scotty was blinded by an IED suicide bomb while serving our country in Iraq. While he lay in a coma at Walter Reed, I was forced to navigate a system that offered no real support – not for him, and certainly not for me. I had resigned from my job to be by his side, while facing student loan debt and mounting care expenses. There were no safety nets, no clear guidance – just bureaucracy and silence.

That was 20 years ago. Shamefully, not much has changed. While I’m thrilled and thankful to see President Trump ensure that members of our military get paid, law enforcement, air traffic controllers, and millions of moms and dads are still missing paychecks.

I know firsthand what it’s like to take on the government with no help, no roadmap, and no reward. If we’re serious about solving these systemic failures, then we must start by holding Congress accountable – not just for writing policy, but for standing behind the people they claim to serve.

Meanwhile, our Democratic politicians continue to prolong the government shutdown – voting six times to keep the government shuttered. While Democrats vote for a continued shutdown, President Trump and congressional Republicans are fighting for a clean-funding extension that will immediately open our government. Passing this stopgap funding measure gives Congress time to pass its funding bills through regular order and continue this historically bipartisan process.

I’ll be blunt: Enough is enough. If the American people have to feel the pain of a government shutdown, members of Congress should be in the foxhole with them.

They should be the ones holding the empty bank account. Imagine the urgency if every member of Congress faced foreclosure notices. Some members, both Republicans and Democrats, have already pledged to forgo their pay; others, like Gallego, should join them and stand with the people they claim to represent. Withhold congressional salaries until the government is funded. And watch how fast the government gets funded.

This shutdown isn't about policy – it’s about power. Democrats are gambling with American families’ paychecks to score political points. Senate Democrats need to pass the clean funding extension or face the consequences of their own making.

Let’s end this farce and stop paying Congress. And reopen the government today.