Originally published in the Philadelphia Business Journal 

By Dave Davies

At least four members of Congress from the Philadelphia area say they don’t want a paycheck as long as the partial government shutdown continues.

Democrats Chrissy Houlahan of Chester County, Mary Gay Scanlon of Delaware County, and Dwight Evans of Philadelphia are joining Bucks County Republican Brian Fitzpatrick in asking House administrators to withhold their pay for now.

Evans said he was moved by the plight of a woman who worked in air traffic control for the FAA whom he met on an Amtrak train.

In a video of their conversation on Evans’ Facebook page, she says she has “two little ones” to care for and asks members of Congress and the Trump administration to “come together and not use us as pawns.”

“The workers are caught in the middle of this, and it doesn’t make any sense,” Evans said in a phone interview, “so we need to lower our voices, stop pointing fingers and find a solution.”

President Donald Trump has said he’s prepared to endure a long shutdown to get $5.6 billion in funding for a border wall, while Democrats are opposed to the idea.

Go to whyy.org for the local Congress members' rationale behind joining the country's 800,000 furloughed workers.