In a letter to the Chief House Administrative Officer Phillip Kiko today, Rep. Dean Phillips requested that he not receive a paycheck during the federal government shutdown, now in its eighteenth day. In doing so, Rep. Phillips fulfills a promise made in this December 22 tweet:

“Many are asking me about no budget/no pay. I won’t accept pay as long as hardworking federal employees are denied theirs. And once the shutdown ends, it’s time to consider how we incentivize Congress to produce responsible budgets, vs. the $1 trillion deficit forecast in 2019.”

Rep. Phillips also announced his plans to donate his salary from the duration of the shutdown to three organizations. The sum will be split evenly between:

Cornerstone Minnesota, a multifaceted nonprofit located in Bloomington, Minnesota with the goal of reducing the prevalence of domestic violence, sexual violence and human trafficking.

Second Harvest Heartland, a food bank headquartered in Minnesota working to end hunger through community partnerships. Second Harvest Heartland will open a new facility in Brooklyn Park that will bring 300 full time jobs to Minnesota’s Third District by 2020.

Vietnam Veterans of America, in honor of Rep. Phillips’s birth father Artie Pfefer, who was killed in action in the Vietnam War in July 1969.

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