About Us
When Congress doesn’t do its job and the government shuts down, regular people suffer.
Workers miss paychecks. Families worry about making ends meet. Critical services stop.
Somehow, members of Congress still get paid.
That’s wrong.
We are a social welfare organization working to change the rules so that if Congress shuts down the government, they don’t get paid either. If families have to feel the pain, Congress should too.
Our goal is simple: make Congress do its job, keep the government open, and treat the American people with respect.
Leadership
Jack Magruder, Executive Director, leads strategic outreach with policymakers and non-profit organizations at the local, state, and national levels to advance constitutional and statutory solutions on behalf of No Shutdown Pay for Congress, a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to prohibiting members of Congress from receiving pay or backpay during government shutdowns.
Before leading No Shutdown Pay for Congress, Jack worked as a public affairs consultant at The Herald Group in Washington, D.C.,communicating around federal and state policy issues for a range of industries and interest groups. His experience includes advising non-profits, trade associations, and private companies on media relations, legislative messaging, and coalition management. Jack’s clients included organizations focused on government accountability, tax administration, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, and collective bargaining policy. He has successfully placed and published numerous op-eds, letters to the editor, and featured quotes on behalf of clients in prominent media outlets across the country, including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Newsweek, and The Baltimore Sun.
A native Washingtonian, Jack holds a B.A. in American History from Washington and Lee University. His deep commitment to protecting critical government agencies and their employees from the disruptions and hardships of government shutdowns is inspired by both of his grandfathers and his great-grandmother, as they were longtime and dedicated employees of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Norman Understein is the Founding Director of No Shutdown Pay for Congress.
A lifelong Washingtonian, Understein has been an entrepreneur for over 50 years. He founded and led numerous companies under the USA Companies umbrella (www.usacompanies.com), starting with a 1967 publishing venture and expanding into medical, internet, hospitality, non-profit organizations, and other fields—many later sold or merged.
His early career included an internship with the 1964 Johnson-Humphrey campaign and advance work for President Lyndon B. Johnson. One of his companies helped produce the program magazine for the Kennedy Center’s opening (published then by the Saturday Review).
A 1966 Bradley University graduate (Journalism and Psychology), he was active in campus leadership roles and became a pilot in 1963 while a student. In 2016, he received the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for sustained aviation excellence.
Understein has served on advisory boards for the AFI-Silver, Mark Twain House & Museum, and continues on Bradley University’s Turner School of Entrepreneurship advisory council, where he mentors students.
He is married with five children and eight grandchildren. As a director, he applies his entrepreneurial experience and lifelong civic engagement to the mission of aligning congressional incentives with the hardships shutdowns impose on federal workers and taxpayers.
Professional Engagements
Legal Counsel
Webster, Chamberlain, Bean, LLP, Washington, D.C.
Bregman, Berbert, Schwartz, and Gilday, LLC, Bethesda, Maryland
Business Advisory
1-Up IT, Middletown, Maryland
Online contributions to No Shutdown Pay For Congress, Inc. are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. If you wish to make a tax-deductible donation, please contact us regarding our 501(c)(3) sister organization, No Shutdown Pay For Congress Foundation.