Ten House Democrats are pressing Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to bring the chamber back by next week to pass a bill to pay service members before funding runs out due to the ongoing government shutdown, though the Louisiana Republican said that won’t be happening.
In a Wednesday letter led by Democratic Reps. Gabe Vasquez (N.M.) and Derek Tran (Calif.), the lawmakers called on Johnson to bring the House back before next Wednesday, when roughly 1.3 million active duty service members — in addition to tens of thousands of deployed or full-time National Guard members and Coast Guard personnel — will miss their next scheduled paycheck should nothing happen.
“If Congress does not act by October 15th, nearly three million military families will miss their next paycheck,” they write in the letter, first reported by Punchbowl News. “That’s unacceptable — our military families and troops deserve better.”
They encouraged Johnson “to bring bipartisan, commonsense legislation to the floor” as negotiations to reopen the government continue. As it stands, for military personnel to continue to get paid there must be some resolution to the funding impasse by Oct. 13.
The lawmakers point to the 2013 government shutdown, during which Congress passed the Pay Our Military Act, a similar bill that provided pay for service members during such an event. During the 2018-19 shutdown, the Defense Department remained funded throughout the record 35-day stalemate.
“There is precedent for bringing legislation to pay our troops up for a vote during a shutdown and a record that shows Congress can come together for the benefit of our service members even while disagreeing on other matters,” according to the lawmakers. “The threats from our adversaries do not stop because the federal government shuts down.”
But Johnson said Wednesday he would not bring the House back to vote on paying troops.
“We’ve already had that vote. The job in the House is done,” he said.
The U.S. government is at an impasse over how it will be funded in the new fiscal year, with Republicans pressing for a “clean” continuing resolution that would fund the government at previous spending levels until mid-November.
The Senate is expected Wednesday to once again take votes on dueling stopgap funding bills. Republicans have pressed their Democratic colleagues to pass the GOP-led “clean” continuing resolution that would fund the government at previous spending levels until mid-November. Democrats have blocked the bill from advancing numerous times, demanding it include an extension of Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that are slated to expire at the end of the year.
Making matters more difficult, the House remains out of town, with Johnson indicating Monday that members will remain back in their districts until senators come to a deal.
President Trump has promised that troops won’t miss a paycheck, though he has questioned whether civilian federal employees who are currently furloughed deserve back pay when the shutdown is over, breaking with the precedent from earlier shutdowns.
