Many federal workers have no idea when their next paycheck is coming due to the government shutdown, but that's not the case for members of Congress.

TMCC's Political Science Professor Fred Lokken says congressional salaries are protected by the Constitution, "Why Congress gets paid is because in Article One, Section Six. It says Congress must be paid."

Professor Lokken says it's one of the reasons why shutdowns happen in our country so commonly. We're also the only country that shuts down.

Lokken says if other countries cannot agree on a new budget, they'll operate on the existing budget until they agree on changes, unlike the U.S., which has a complete shutdown.

Our last shutdown happened during President Trump's first term, lasting 35 days.

"That was long. That was probably the longest one we've had," said Lokken. "Normally, these things last from a few hours to a day or two, but we're in new territory. We can go on a limb on this one."

Lokken tells us statistically, shutdowns occur about 2.3 years over the last 30 years, and sometimes are used as a tactic to pressure opposing parties.

"It creates another pressure point in the environment. Perhaps it really forces them to sit down and figure something out," said Lokken.

Both Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Senator Jacky Rosen say they'll both be donating their paychecks during the shutdown.

Cortez Masto says, "While the government is shut, yes, I'm going to donate my salary like I've always done. I've done it when I was attorney general, when we were in difficult times, when some of our state employees were, and have done it in the past and will do so here."

She says she'll be donating to local food banks in Nevada.

Rosen's spokesperson says in a statement, "She will be donating her next paycheck to causes that Washington Republicans have put at risk: health care and Meals on Wheels."

Cortez Masto says she initially voted not to have a shutdown, knowing how it would impact people, "In particular to Nevada, when you're in a state where there's high costs, grocery costs, clothing costs, energy costs, all of the above, and you're living paycheck to paycheck, it matters that you get your paycheck on time."

Senator Cortez Masto urges any impacted federal workers in Nevada to reach out to her office for help.

We reached out to Congressman Mark Amodei, as well as Nevada's other representatives, for their reactions to the government shutdown, but have not heard back yet.